She Loves Him
by Sewa
Summary: She's in love with....' how can she tell him when she can't even admit it to herself. It's short, but I'm hoping to add more chapters. please review good or bad i need ideas. Thanks!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi there! Okay so this is like my first fanfic ever! Well….not so true. I did write one before, but I don't count that one because it sucked…BIG TIME!! So here it is: my **_**first**_** fanfic.**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach….but I can dream, right? **_

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Rukia walked the streets if Karakura town aimlessly. She was confused. More than that, she was in love….again.

It was after the winter war, that she and the orange haired Substitute Shingami, Kurosaki Ichigo, had confessed their love for each other and become each other's, 'other half'.

Her love for Ichigo had snuck up on her. He told her he loved her and she told him, only just after realizing it, that she loved him too.

But now, only months after that, she found herself more confused than she had ever been. More confused than the day the Kuchiki clan asked her to become a member of their family. Even more confused than when her brother Byakuya treated her with the same cold and calculating attitude that he treated everyone with, even though it was he who had requested that she be adopted into the family.

What was confusing her? She was in love with…

She groaned, kicking a pebble on the sidewalk. She couldn't even admit it to herself. Was it possible that she had loved him all along and didn't know it? What was she going to do? She was in love with….

She groaned again, looking up. "Renji?"

She had been so focused on the path ahead of her and the thoughts going on inside her that she didn't even notice her red haired friend coming out of a department store. He waved at her. "Hey, Rukia!"

She smiled and waved back. "Renji, what're you doing here?"

"What do you mean? I was going to ask you the same thing. And where's your dumbassed boyfriend, Ichigo?" he snorted.

She looked down at her feet then back up at him. "I left him in the park after we got rid of a hollow."

"Huh?" he pulled out his hollow detector and tapped it. "Damn that Urahara bastard. He's an idiot cheapskate!"

Rukia laughed, taking the device from his hands. "What happened to the one the twelfth division issued you?"

He cleared his throat. "I-I….well you see…it got smashed when I threw it at that brat Jinta for calling me a lazy idiot."

She shook her head. "And you can blame him? It got smashed because _you_ threw it, then you asked _Urahara_-_san_ of all people for a new one?"

A vein pulsed on his forehead, but he didn't say anything. He knew she was right. He let out a sigh. "C'mon, short-stuff. I'll walk you home—"

He was cut short when her foot connected with his face. She landed with the grace of a noble, on her feet, while he landed flat on his back.

"C'mon, _lazy_!" she called, already walking away.

He sat up, rubbing his face. "She hits the same spot, _every_ _time_." He launched himself to his feet and ran to catch up with her.

"So….what's troubling you Rukia?" when she shot him a questioning look he sighed. "I've known you long enough to tell the different looks on your face apart. The look you had on before I waved and called out to you was the 'I'm worried about something' look…..or was it the 'mad at Ichigo' look? It also could've been the 'hungry' or 'annoyed' look." He rubbed his chin, confused. Then he held up his index finger, wearing a smart look on his face. "Ah-hah! It was the 'worried about and mad at Ichigo because you were annoyed, making you hungry' look." He nodded to himself, proudly.

She pushed him away, playfully. "That sounds like something only an idiot would say—Oh wait! Forget I said anything."

"Ha, ha." He laughed sarcastically.

They went on lightly insulting each other until they reached the Kurosaki Clinic. "Okay. This is me." Rukia announced.

"Yep. See ya!" Renji said, turning and walking in the direction of the Urahara Store.

Rukia watched him take his leave. "Renji?"

He turned on his heel. "Yeah?"

"Thanks. For walking me home."

"Welcome, Rukia. Anytime" He smiled, turning around. _I love you. Always have._

She sighed, turning to the Kurosaki house that had become her home. _I love you. Always will._

**Okay, so there it is. Hope you likey! Sorry if it was too short, I'll try fix that on the next one. Speaking of which, please review?? I really need help. Any suggestions for the next chapter? What should I do to improve? Review!! Review!! Review!! Even if you don't want to. Hehehe ;P**

**Oh! BTW, you probably guessed already, but the writing in italics is what said person was thinking.**

**Thanks heaps! XD**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay so this chapter gets sort of down and depressing. Buuuuuuuuuuuut at the end, it gets more…what are the words….not down and depressing? 8D**

**Disclaimer: I had a dream; I owned it. But then I woke up and I didn't.**

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_What am I doing? Why am I even here? After eliminating that hollow, she left me in the park without so much as a backwards glance_.

"My, my, Kurosaki Ichigo, how nice to see you so soon. What seems to be the problem? Do you need help with…maybe your hollow detector? I can give you a new, _quality_ one, but it's gonna cost ya!" Urahara smiled, coming out of his store.

"Quality? Hah! That piece of junk you sold me didn't even last a week!" Renji snorted. He turned to Ichigo. "Hiya Ichigo. What're you doing _here_? I walked Rukia to your place after I found her, coz she looked a little sad or somehthing. Guess I shoulda looked for your fat-ass reiatsu first, huh."

The vein in Ichigo's head almost burst. "Who're you calling fat-assed, you stupid freeloader."

Renji was unmoved. "Stop trying to steal Jinta's insults. Just because you're too imbecilish to make up your own."

"Who's the imbecile? Imbecilish isn't even a word!" Ichigo retorted.

"Shut up, half breed!"

"Yeah? Well watch as this half breed kicks your imbecileish ass!"

"Hah! See Ichigo? It is a word. You just used it just now." Renji smiled.

"Oi! Freeloader-san!" Jinta called. "Go and eat before we change our minds and kick you out."

Ururu straightened up from the bow she had just executed. "Jinta-san! You mustn't be so mean to Abarai-kun. He—"

She was cut short and started wailing helplessly when Jinta almost pulled out her hair and smacked his fist into the top of her head.

Renji pulled Jinta off Ururu and carried them both inside, under his arms. Ururu kept still and quiet, thankful that Renji saved her, while Jinta threw his arms and legs in all possible directions. "Let go of me, you worthless piece of sh—"

"Shut up!" Renji yelled, before disappearing into the store.

Urahara, hiding his face behind his fan, cleared his throat. "Well, shall we go inside for some tea?"

"Nahh, I'm good, Urahara. I need to go and check on, uh, Rukia. Maybe next time" Ichigo smiled

"Yes well, pass our regards to Rukia-chan. Any time you're in the area again, drop by." Urahara called after a retreating Ichigo.

"Okay." Ichigo waved.

"What? Leaving so soon? Probably best anyway." Renji called, standing at the door of the Urahara store holding his bowl in both hands.

"See ya Renji!" Ichigo called over his shoulder.

"yeah." He muttered.

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"Rukia? Rukia!" she was nowhere to be found. He finally gave up and tried searching for her reiatsu (something he should have done in the first place). She was on the roof. He climbed out the widow and up onto the roof. "Oi, Rukia."

"Hmm? Hey Ichigo." She mumbled, looking back out into the black, starry sky.

He sat beside her. "I was at the Urahara Shop just now. Renji said he walked you home." he watched as she smiled.

"Yeah. I was bored, I guess. And he found me." she smiled again, remembering their short time together. Her smile faded when she thought back to when they were just scamps in Rukongai. They had been so close…

"Yeah, the idiot called me a half-breed!" he said shaking his head, annoyed.

"You kind of are…" she trailed off, feeling his intense glare. She knew he was annoyed at her for a lot of reasons, and now, one of them was the fact that she had just taken Renji's side. But he had no right…

"Why were you at the Urahara Store?" she asked, in an attempt to change the subject.

He looked out to the stars. "After you…left me, I walked and walked, finding myself there."

Ahh, another reason he was annoyed with her. She had left him. "That's all you found, huh?" she asked, barely audible.

His head snapped in her direction. "Whats that suppoed to mean?" she said nothing, angering him. "Rukia? What the hell was that supposed to mean? Was I looking for something?"

She heaved a deep sigh. "We both are, Ichigo. We're looking for answers—well I am anyway. Why things are going wrong—"

"Nothing is going wrong Ruki—"

"You're going to sit there and lie to me? you don't think that I saw you before we met up to kill that hollow? You were with her! And you were….doing…with her. How could you?!" the tears streamed down her cheeks, soaking her shirt.

Ichigo stood there shocked. _She saw me…._

He watched as she turned away from him. "Rukia…" he reached out a hand placing it on her petite shoulder.

She roughly shrugged it off. "I hate you." She muttered and shunpoed away.

Her words pierced his very heart. She had seen him. She was hurt. He was an idiot—no! He was an ass. A complete and utter ass. He sighed, turning to go into the house, knowing she wouldn't be back._ Shit._

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Rukia stopped at the park. Her tears had stopped, but her cheeks were still wet. Now she was mad. She remebered their conversation and the look on his face when he found out that she knew.

"Asshole." She muttered. _Idiot, Idiot, Idiot, Idiot, Idiot!_

Her breaths grew raged and fresh tears washed away the old ones. She let out a scream from within her everything. She had never felt so broken. The cry pireced the silent night and with it a powerful, angry reiatsu was released.

When the scream ended, the reiatsu didn't stop flowing. Just because she had stopped screaming didn't mean she stopped being angry.

Then out of nowhere, a hollow appeared then a few more and then some more. They were attracted to her reiastu.

One that had a serpentine body dove head first for her. She dodged it, landing behind a tree. She popped a modified soul pill into her mouth and drew her Zanpaktou.

A hollow with what looked like twenty legs rammed her into the tree. She groaned ,slicing away half of its legs. It fell off her, while another lunged for her. She began slicing away, getting thrown here and there, but killing a lot of them.

She didn't realise tears were trailing down her cheeks until they clouded her vision, making her falter. She blinked them away before another hollow attacked. She had killed a lot of them by now and only three remained. She jumped zanpaktou first for the smallest one, cutting vigorously. She had not wanted to release Sode no Shirayuki; just wanting to cut them using her strength. A way to channel her anger.

She finished them off quickly, getting her reiatsu under control so as to not attract anymore. She kept her head down, her breath shaky, while she sheathed her zanpaktou. Without warning, she crumpled to the ground, burying her head in her hands.

She was about to start sobbing, when she mentally slapped herself. She was a noble. A member of the Kuchiki clan; one of the four most powerful families in Soul Society. What would her nii-sama think if he saw her now? She got up, brushing away dirt.

"Wow." She heard a familiar voice say.

She didn't need this. Not now. She didn't need to see him. She heard him walk closer. "You okay, Rukia?" his voice saturated with concern.

"Leave me alone, Renji." She meant for it to be harsh, but her voice cracked. What was she saying? She didn't _need_ him there, she _wanted_ him there

"Mmm, sorry, no." he said. She looked at him (actually glared, but who's asking?). Like her, he wasn't in his gigai. "What was with that reiatsu just now?" he asked. She didn't answer. "Okay, fine don't answer. Just glare at me. Whatever it is I'm sure _Ichigo_ can help—"

"Don't…" she whispered, surprising Renji. He had expected her to yell at him with the looks she was giving him. "Don't…say….his name." he raised an eyebrow.

Not quite getting it: "Who, Ichi—"

For the second time that day, Renji was cut off when Rukia's foot connected to his face. She—once again—landed on her feet, and he—once again—landed flat on his back. "Damnit Rukia, every single time!"

"What are you, lazy _and_ deaf? I told you not to say his name!" she shakes her head at him.

"I was just trying to make sure." He mumbled, holding his nose. But then he stopped, looked up at her and spoke calmly, through gritted teeth. "What did he do to you?"

"Nothing."

"Tell me."

"No."

"Tell."

"No!"

"Now!"

"Renji!"

"Rukia!"

"Leave it Renji!"

"Fine!"

"Good!"

"I'll just go and ask him myself." He muttered, getting up. He turned on his heel and began walking.

"Don't…" she whispered for the second time that night.

This stopped him dead in his tracks. She turned and shumpoed in the opposite direction, secretly hoping he would follow. A few seconds later, Renji was shunpoing right beside her with an annoyed look on his face. They stopped on a hill overlooking the city. "Rukia, tell me what he did to you. I'm gonna kick his ass either way."

She looked at him through sad eyes. Then sighed, defeated. "Before the hollow in the park, he…was….with…someone else."

His eyes widened. _Why the hell would that half-breed, want to cheat on _Rukia_? What could posses him to do that? Asshole!_

"I don't know what to do Renji. I feel so….broken." she hugged herself.

"I'm gonna kill him. Then, I'll hunt him down in Soul Society and kill him again! That bastard! How the hell could he do this to you?!" he raged on and on, while Rukia hugged herself.

"Renji?" He stopped, turning to her. "Can you stay with me? I'm not going back to….his house."

Renji nodded, holding his hand out to her.

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Renji stalked into the Urahara Store, tired. He was about to crash when he heard Urahara's voice. "Ahh, Abarai-kun."

"Where were you, Freeloader-san? You left after feeling Kuchiki's reiastu and never returned." Jinta called.

"She was…..upset." he said, a little drowsy.

"Well, I think we ascertained that when we all felt her reiatsu." Urahara said, strangly cheerful as usual.

"Duh, idiot!" Jinta scoffed.

Renji's head pulsed; he was tired and had no time for an argument. "Say that again! Say it right to my face, you microscopic brat!"

"Uh-huh, you heard me. I said you an idio—what did you call me?!"

"What, your microscopic ears didn't hear me?" Renji grinned.

Jinta was about to hurl an insult at Renji when Urahara intervened. "I trust Kuchiki is alright now?"

Renji grunted. "Yeah, went to the park and swung on the swings in silence, all night. She's spending the day in Seireitei today; she'll be back later."

He jumped onto his futon and shut his eyes. "I assume you will be sleeping all day?" Urahara asked from behind his fan.

Renji grunted. "Sleep." Sleep now, kill Ichigo later.

**Oooooookay, so there it is. The second chapter. Hmmm, I wonder who Ichigo's mystery lady is. I think I know…hehehehe**

**Ooookay, so this chapter is definitely longer than the last one and I think I need to put more humour in. Anyways, I'll fix that in the next one. (Next one?) Please, pleeeease review?! How do I end this story?**

**I'm sorry I can't think by myself. My brain is occupied on my five tests in a row tomorrow. Ahhh, the pressures of high school. PLEASE REVIEW?!!!!!**

**Thanks!! 8D**

**P.S. Tell me if I got anything wrong or right or whatever. Review: Good or Bad.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Whazzzup ma people?! Okay….that was kinda, oh I don't know…wannabe. Anywho, thanks for the reviews. I wasn't expecting any, but when I checked, I had some!! Whoo-hoo!!**

**So I was really unsure on where to go with this story, but I got inspiration from when my big bro almost belted this guy up for making me cry……What!? He was perving on me!**

**Whatever! Here it is: the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Whyyyyyy!!?!!  
**

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Rukia walked the halls of the Kuchiki manor hurriedly. She turned the corner seeing the door of her destination. Walking up to it, she dropped to her knees and slid the door open, trying not to make it seem rushed.

"Hmm?"

"Nii-sama. I am back from the real world and I shall return there in a couple of days." She reported to her brother.

"Rukia….what is bothering you?" the deep, cold voice came, a hint of concern.

"Nii-sama?" she asked, confused.

"Something is bothering you." He replied, looking up to her from his paperwork. When he saw her questioning look, he elaborated. "Your movements were rushed, I can still see you breathing fast and…you didn't knock." He noted a while back that she would do one of these things when she was worried about something.

Rukia's eyes widened in realization. "Forgive me, nii-sama. I didn't mean—"

"Rukia. The past is the past. Come inside." His tone softening.

She stood and stepped into the room. Turning, she slid the door shut before proceeding to sit in front of her nii-sama's table.

"Now," he began. "tell me. What is bothering you?" he saw her hesitate and then the beginnings of a scowl as she looked up at him.

She composed herself, taking a deep breath. "It is nothing, nii-sama. My greatest thanks for your concern, but I will deal with it myself."

He was surprised at how her posture, expression and tone seemed to change completely. Her expression was….well, there _was_ no expression, and her voice was like a straight line, no emotion, just flat and boring, while her posture was one that only a noble could hold. It was like she had transformed from Rukia into….a female version of him!

Byakuya knew many things about Rukia that she didn't think he did. One of them being the mask she was wearing; the one that said 'I'm hurting inside'; the one that she wore when she was upset with a certain substitute Shinigami. Byakuya had seen it before. The couple had, had an argument and she had returned to Soul Society to get away from him. She had worn that face the whole time she was there, refusing to go out with Rangiku or anyone else.

So, another thing Byakuya knew about his sister, was that the face she wore, meant the fool Kurosaki Ichigo had done something to make her upset.

He tried not to make the rising anger apparent when he spoke. "How is that boy, Kurosaki? I trust he is treating you well."

There it was. A flicker of anger and pain flashed across her face. "Nii-sama…he is…well. We took care of a few hollows." Rukia kicked herself. Why were there tears threatening to dance down her face, taunting her? She made an effort to blink them away before they actually did, hoping that Byakuya didn't see.

But of _course_ he noticed. He felt an indescribable feeling welling up on the inside. The fool had made his sister, his _pride_ shed tears.

They were wasted tears as far as he was concerned. Tears that she would never get back. He looked down at his paperwork, hoping she wouldn't see the anger naked on his face. "Rukia, I'm glad you are back. You may go now. I must finish this paperwork."

She bowed before standing to leave. "Thank you, nii-sama."

He shut his eyes, hearing her slide the door shut._ I will find you Kurosaki…and you will regret the day you met Rukia._

* * *

'beep, beep, beep, beep, bee—'

Renji pressed the blue button on his hollow detector. He groaned as he rolled out of bed, stopping as he saw his gigai— with the mod soul in it—playing cards with Nova and Ririn.

It was then that he realised that the night before, he had just crashed before getting back into his gigai.

He grabbed Zambimaru from beside his futon and jumped to his feet. He began making his way to the front door when he heard the familiar sound of a fan opening. Urahara's voice came instantly after. "Don't cause too much trouble, Abarai-kun."

Renji grunted in reply, wondering what the man meant. He broke out into shunpo, to get there faster. On arrival, he saw two hollows. He advanced toward the,, cutting the smaller one in half watching as it disappeared into nothingness. Turning, he was about to go for the last one when Ichigo beat him to it, slicing the hollow three times.

Ichigo landed facing away from Renji, which is why the only thing that warned him of an attack, was the sound of Renji's voice. "Howl, Zambimaru!"

Ichigo turned to an enraged Renji, only just dodging Zambimaru's attack. "Renji, stop!" yelled Ichigo.

Renji either didn't hear him or chose not to. He shunpoed to Ichigo's side, slamming him into a wall. "You two-timing, half-breed, shit-face, son of a bitch!"

Ichigo stopped struggling. His shoulders sagged as he looked down in shame. "Renji, I-I—"

"you having trouble admitting what you did? Need help? ya wanna know what you did?! You cheated! You screwed up big time you eyesore, shit-faced asshole!" Renji paused, watching Ichigo's face.

His voice went lower as he spoke through gritted teeth. "Do you have _any_ idea what you've done to Rukia? How this has hurt her? You hurt her! Y'know what she told me? She said she felt _broken_." He shoved Ichigo aside, wanting to snap him in half, then half again and grind the pieces to dust.

Ichigo sighed. "I screwed up Renji. And I'm gonna have to deal with everything. But you have to let Rukia and me fix this up."

"Screw you! She never wants to see yer face again." Renji spat. "And honestly, if I ever see your face again….I'll _kill_ you."

Renji shunpoed away from there. He was afraid he might actually kill the guy. Soul society would punish him severely for destroying such a powerful ally. "Screw Soul Society." He muttered entering the Urahara Store.

He was greeted at the door by Jinta and Ururu. "Freeloader-san, your breakfast is there. Its cold coz you were away for too long." Jinta said nonchalantly.

"But you put it in the frid—" Ururu started wailing as Jinta's fist found its way to her head.

"Brat." Renji muttered, going to eat his breakfast.

* * *

Ichigo was making his way to his house when a powerful reiatsu came crushing down on him. Were he someone of less power, he would have crumpled to his feet. But, he was not. He looked around but saw no one. The reiatsu was familiar, except it was cold; it had a way of appearing gentle but being powerful. He wouldn't have been able to tell who it was but she heard two words that mad him think: _shit_.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura." Thousands of pink cherry blossom petals surrounded the orange haired substitute Shinigami.

Not wanting to risk it he chanted: "Bankai"

Ichigo's appearance changed from normal Shinigami attire to his Bankai outfit, while Zangetsu changed to his slender black form.

Ichigo search the area for any sign of the sixth division captain. From out of seemingly nowhere, Byakuya grabbed Ichigo by the collar and threw him into a tree, almost destroying it.

Ichigo got up groggily, dusting himself off and leaned on what was left of the tree. "Byaku—"

"Unless you have a death wish, I suggest you shut your mouth, Kurosaki." Byakuya hissed.

Ichigo was a little shocked. He had never heard Byakuya hiss or be as angry as he so obviously was. Byakuya advanced closer to Ichigo. "I am unaware of what you did. Frankly, that doesn't matter. What I do know is that you have upset Rukia—if you _ever_ even breath in her direction again….I. _Will_. Kill. You."

Byakuya turned on his heel, not wanting to look at the lower class Shinigami. A senkai gate appeared and a hell butterfly flew out to accompany the sixth captain. "Your death won't be quick…..or painless. So I hope for your family's sake that you heed my warning."

Ichigo watched as both Byakuya and the senkai gate disappeared. He heaved a deep sigh. "great." He muttered. _Two death threats in one afternoon? That's got to be some kind of record._

He leaned away from the tree and began to make his way home. _Damn_.

* * *

A senkai gate opened, a hell butterfly waiting to be an escort.

Rukia bowed her head. "Thank you Ukitake Taicho. It was nice of you to come and see me off. Nii-sama just came back from a mission to the real world a couple of days ago, so he is resting and catching up on paperwork."

Ukitake smiled widely at her. "It was nice to have you back Rukia-san. I always wonder how the real world is treating you. It was nice to see that everything is going well."

Rukia cringed internally. When her captain had asked how things were going in the real world, she had failed to mention the reason for her return to Soul Society.

She returned his smile. "Yes and I should get back so it can stay that way."

Her captain smiled like a proud father. "Well, I shouldn't keep you. Go, Rukia-san."

"Hai!" she bowed once more, then ran into the gate, hell butterfly closely behind.

**Alright….none of these chapters end up the way I expect them to. I really wanted to get Bya-kun to bash Ichi up, but I was too busy (studying the inside of my eyelids) to write it out. Hope you liked it. Oh, and sorry if the characters are a little OOC.  
**

**PLEASE, PLEASE, _PLEASE_ REVIEW??!! Even if you thought this story sucked. JUST REVIEW!!!**

**Until next time…. 8P**


	4. Chapter 4

**Wowww! Thanks to all the people that added me to their favourite lists and story alert lists….y'all rock! And of course the review(s). well i have to confess that it was a load of BS when I said I knew who Ichigo's mystery lady was….I actually don't (hehehee)**

**Anywayz, here's the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I Wish!**

"Aaaabaaaaaraaaaiii-kuuuun. Geeeet uuuuup Aaaabaaaraaai-kuuun. Youuuu haaaaave a viiiisiiiitoooor." Urahara called, dramatically sounding the out words slowly.

The sixth division fuku-taicho let his eyes open, taking in his surroundings. He was in his room, on his futon. Rolling over, he crawled out of bed and sat on the floor. A few minutes later, he was out of bed and making his way to the breakfast table where his guest sat waiting.

"Oh, hey Rukia. You're back from Soul Society. How's the captain?" he asked, taking a seat next to her. He watched Ururu carrying a stack of dishes, guessing that Rukia had just eaten something.

She smiled at him. "Nii-sama was fine. He came here a couple of days ago on a mission. Did you get a chance to see him?"

Renji shook his head. "I felt his reiatsu, but he was gone a short time later."

Rukia nodded, wondering what Byakuya's mission was, but lost her train of thought as Renji leaned in closer to her. She could smell him; he was so close. There was a sort of musky smell to him and for unfathomable reasons; she felt her face heat up.

He nearly smiled as he saw her cheeks flush a darker shade. "How have you been?"

She cleared her throat. "U-um. I'm….good." she watched as he nodded, concerned. "My....trip back home was exactly what I needed. Now, I can deal with…everything."

He leaned away from her, turning to his breakfast and wolfing it down in one go. "Pig." He heard her mutter in amusement.

He ignored her comment on his eating habits. She crossed her arms at her chest. "I need to talk to Urahara about something, so I'll see you later."

He nodded and got to his feet. He offered her his hand—which she willingly took—and pulled her to her feet. "See ya." He waved turning and leaving.

She stood in her spot, staring at the place where Renji had just disappeared. "Are you just going to stand there or are you going to come down to the basement." Urahara inquired.

Rukia snapped out of her dreamlike state and smiled, embarrassed. "O-oh, Urahara. Right. Let's go."

Urahara snapped open his fan and brought it up, in front of his face. "Let's." He muttered, amused.

* * *

Renji had a nice, refreshing cold shower. When he was done, he wrapped a towel around his waist, not bothering to wipe himself dry. He wondered out to the hall, looking for Jinta. He had asked the brat to bring him some clothes and that had been a while ago.

He made a pit stop at the kitchen, going to the fridge for something to drink. Pulling out a carton of juice, he took three big gulps.

He heard a sharp intake of breath. "Oh. Jeez, Renji. Could you at _least_ cover up while I'm around?!"

He put the juice back into the fridge, and then turned to Rukia. "You're done with Urahara?"

She nodded. She concentrated on Renji's face, instead of the hardened muscles at his chest and abs that glistened with water droplets. "Wanna go for a walk?"

He brushed past her, disappearing into his room. "Yeah sure. Let me get changed."

She waited for him quietly, her thoughts wondering back to her brother. Rukia knew it was none of her business, but it bugged her. What was the mission that only took a short while to accomplish?

"Kay, let's go." Renji called, walking out of his room, wearing a blue collard shirt and a pair of worn out jeans.

They left the Urahara Store and began walking in no particular direction. Rukia turned to Renji. "I'm going to see him later on, Renji."

She noticed his jaw clenching and unclenching. "You don't have to do that Rukia."

She smiled gently. "I kinda do. I need to… I need to move on. If he doesn't want me then….." she trailed off.

"If he doesn't want you, then he's a fool." Renji really wanted to say something a lot more colourful than that but he wasn't about to colour Rukia's day with his vocabulary.

"Yeah. A fool? I can think of a lot of other things that he is." She raised an eyebrow at him, surprised at his modesty.

He smiled, and then turned serious. "I'm not going to stop you Rukia. You're your own person. I'm not going to tell you what to do. Just know that…I'm here for ya."

"Thanks." She murmured. "Oh! Kira-san, Hisagi-san and Ikkaku-san say hi. They, along with Rangiku-san dragged me out for some lunch and sake."

"What kinda trouble have they gotten into lately?" he speculated.

Rukia chuckled. "Rangiku-san wanted to try out a bar in district eighty-two. They went; and of course they left the place a complete mess. Four critically injured and twenty-seven got away with small injuries but with bruised egos."

Renji shook his head. "Of all the places; Rangiku chooses the worst district in Rukongai. I'm just sorry I missed a good fight."

"Yeah. Eighty-second….That's close to where we grew up." Rukia mused.

"Yeah…those were the days." He muttered, reminiscing back to the days where it was just them and their wits. "Hey, where are you gonna stay, now that you and half-breed aren't…on best terms?"

"Urahara found me a place. It's close to the store so I'll be around there a lot." She said, looking at the ground. She looked back up at Renji, and stopped walking.

Renji stopped a few steps ahead of her. "Rukia?"

"Renji…I just wanted to thank you for…for the other day. Y'know you didn't have to do that and—"

"Rukia, stop. I did it because…."_ I love you_. "Because I wanted to, and you're…you're my friend."

_Right. Friend._ "Well, thanks anyway." She muttered.

* * *

"GOOOOD MOORNIIING, IIICHIIIIGOOOOO!!!" Isshin Kurosaki called; lunging toward his son's sleeping form.

The older Kurosaki was about to slam his foot into his son's side when Ichigo grabbed his father's foot and threw him into the wall.

"Aww, Ichigo. That hurt." Isshin sniffed, rubbing his head.

"Serves you right for trying to attack me so early in the morning." Ichigo mumbled, still tired.

Isshin got to his feet. "I wasn't attacking you, I was showing you that I love you."

"che, what a funny way of doing that." Ichigo said, climbing out of bed. "What's for breakfast?"

"I think you mean _lunch_." Isshin corrected. "It's eleven-fifty."

"What?! Why didn't you wake me up?!"

"I just did!"

Ichigo sighed exasperated. Isshin face grew curious. "What were you doing so late at night that made you sleep in for so long?" Jumping to conclusions, he smiled slyly. "Heheh, Ichigo. You were at a lady's house, having s—"

Ichigo kicked his father's shin. (He whimpers: "That hurts Ichigo!") "Stop jumping to conclusions with your dirty mind! I was studying for my mid-terms tomorrow, because tonight I'm going out to the movies with Sado and Ishida."

"Okay. Well you have a visitor. She's in the living room" Isshin said awkwardly. He headed downstairs ahead of Ichigo.

Ichigo dreaded who _she_ might be. But he had a pretty good idea who it was. When he reached the bottom of the stairs his father had disappeared into the next room. He turned to he left and saw a familiar petite figure with shoulder length raven hair; she had her back to him.

She turned to him and nodded. "Ichigo."

He almost cringed at the curt, cold greeting. "Hi, Rukia. I was—"

"You will not talk. You will listen." She paused letting that sink in. "It's over Ichigo. We both know that. We've known it for a while now. And as much I want to continue hating you for moving on before we ended it properly, I....I forgive you." The words tasted horrible in Rukia's mouth. She wanted to go and wash out her mouth with bleach or something.

Ichigo's eyes widened, but he stayed quiet, obeying orders. She looked at him with the tiniest hint of a scowl. "Goodbye, Ichigo. Stay out of trouble, coz I won't be bailing you out anymore." She swept out of the room, leaving a surprised Ichigo.

* * *

Rukia heard a knock at her new apartment door. She put the last dress on a coat hanger. Hanging it up in her closet, she ran to the door, pulling it open.

Renji smiled, handing her a neatly wrapped gift. "Housewarming present."

She smiled taking the gift from his hands. "You didn't have to, but thanks. Come on in; make yourself at home."

He walked past her, into the new smelling apartment. Slumping into the couch, he tuned on the TV and began channel surfing. Rukia walked toward the kitchen. "Hungry?"

He turned to her. "Starving."

She nodded, disappearing into the kitchen. She was gone for a while so he decided to go and check on her. Getting up he went and took a seat at the kitchen bench. Rukia was sitting in front of the open fridge, deciding what to get for them to eat.

"Your fridge is _packed_." He commented.

She looked up at him, then back at the fridge. "Urahara had it stocked up for me. Hey, what do you wanna eat and drink?"

"Got any chips and dip?" he asked.

She stood up; going to what was her pantry. She pulled open the doors to reveal it to be just like the fridge: full. Rummaging through, she found a large bag of chips, which she proceeded to toss over to Renji (who caught it with ease.)

He tore the bag open and nibbled on a few. Rukia sat next to him, putting a tub of dip and two sodas on the table. They ate in silence, Renji watching Rukia out of the corner of his eye and Rukia, trying not to look at him from the corner of her eye.

When they were done, Renji sighed. "How was it?"

She looked at him, biting her lower lip. "How was what?" she asked all too innocently.

He rolled his eyes "You know what I'm talking about Rukia. How did it go with..._him_?"

She heaved a deep sigh. "I ended it Renji. And that was that. I don't wanna talk about it anymore."

He nodded. "Well, I better get going. I'm leaving for Soul Society tonight. The captain needs my report on how things have been here in the real world for the last few months."

"Pass my regards, Renji. And to Ukitake taicho." She requested, walking Renji to the front door.

"Will do." He smiled.

She opened the door letting him walk past her. "Bye, Renji."

He gently pulled her dainty hands from beside her and covered them with both of his. Looking down into her dark eyes, he leaned in so their faces were nearly touching. "Bye, Rukia."

With that, he gently brushed his lips to her forehead, released her hand and left.

Rukia stood there, trying to restart her heart and lungs. She could sill feel his surprisingly gentle lips on her head and his hands on hers. When she had recovered, she closed the door, took a shower and went to sleep; all that time, with a smile gracing her face.

**Wellll, there it is people: the last chapter D;**

**"….."**

**"….."**

**LOL! Yeah, right! Ma bad…**

**So there it was. I hope you liked it. I hope you're not mad coz Renji made his move too fast. And in the next chapters, I'm gonna have to make some people a little OOC to make the story stick. Anywho, like always: PLEASE REVIEW?! PLEEEEAASSEEE!!!!**

**Til next time!! 8]  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Helllooo, my lovely people!!!! Thanks for all of the people who added me to their faves list and story alerts! It means heaps to meeee!!! **

**Okay, so this chapter's mostly about Renji. Hope you like it!!**

**Disclaimer: It's not gonna happen, okay?!**

The sixth division fuku- taicho walked as fast as he could without actually running to his destination. He was late for a meeting with his captain and he knew Byakuya disliked tardiness. Once he reached the outside of his taicho's office, he skidded to a stop and attempted to calm his breathing.

He reached up to knock on the door, but before he could do it, he heard the deep melancholy voice of his captain sound out. "Come in, Renji."

Renji slid the door open and stepped inside. He shot a glance at Byakuya before shutting the door. "Welcome back, Renji. How is the real world treating you?"

Renji was taken back. Byakuya didn't even mention his lateness and now he was asking about his stay in the real world? "U-uh, it was good….thanks."

"I'm glad. Now, I have a mission for you, lieutenant." He said, turning a degree more serious.

Renji too, picked up on his captain's vibe, turning serious also. He waited for his orders. Byakuya narrowed his eyes, the only indication of any emotion. "It has come to my attention that the boy, Kurosaki Ichigo has done something to upset Rukia. I've taken care of him, but I need you to look after her. She seemed….."

"Depressed? Down? Heartbroken? Yeah. She broke up with the half-breed just yesterday." Renji said taking a seat in front of his captain.

Byakuya nodded. "I need you to make sure Kurosaki doesn't do it again. It matters not how you take care of it, just do it. Even if it kills you, Renji."

Renji blinked, then smirked knowingly. "I would have done it even if you didn't ask me, taicho."

"That will be all." Byakuya said, looking down at his table.

"Okay, see-ya." Renji said, lazily getting to his feet and heading to the door. "I'll be leaving in a few days so you might not see me until the next time I get back."

"I'll call you back before then, so you can give me your report on the happenings in the real world." Byakuya said, his eyes never leaving his desk.

Renji nodded before closing the door.

Byakuya sighed almost inaudibly. He would have to believe in Renji to watch out for Rukia.

His eyes roamed the object on this table that held his gaze: a picture of Renji and Rukia. Renji had a big grin on his face looking down a Rukia, with one arm around her petite shoulder. She mirrored his smile, doing a peace sign to the camera, but looking up at Renji.

The photo was in a simple but delicate wooden frame.

The reason he had this particular picture and not one of _just_ Rukia, was because she looked so happy in this picture; Renji had that effect on her….

He sighed again, putting the picture into his top drawer.

_I'm counting on you Renji_.

* * *

"Renji!" Hisagi called, walking towards his fellow fuku-taicho.

"Long time no see." Ikkaku smiled, walking beside Hisagi.

Yumichika smiled and waved too, walking behind Ikkaku.

Renji waved. "Yeah. Its good to be home."

"Okay boys we can go now—Renji! Welcome back. this calls for celebration." The curvy Rangiku smiled widely. "I heard about this place in District 65—"

"Let's go!" Ikkaku chuckled. He liked Rangiku's idea of going to a bar in the slums of Rukongai. Those fights were the best.

"Where's Iba-san?" Renji asked, looking around. This was the usual sake-drinking group except Iba was missing.

"He'll join us later. Let's roll!" Rangiku cooed.

Renji chuckled following after the tenth division fuku-taicho. His mind wondered back to Rukia….

"Yo, Renji, what's up?" Hisagi asked, walking beside him.

Kira gave him a look that said exactly what Hisagi asked. Renji shook his head. "Nothing. Why do ya ask?"

Kira cleared his throat. "You're thinking about her again, huh?"

Renji stammered. "W-What?!"

Hisagi nudged him with his elbow and chuckled. "Ahh, Renji." Was all he said.

The blonde and the raven haired vice-captains walked ahead of Renji. They had grown close, having one thing in common: the betrayed of their captains

Renji heaved a deep sigh and continued walking. A bar fight would help him get his mind off Rukia….

* * *

After a few (actually a lot of) very good sakes, the party really got started when some punks tried to force themselves on Rangiku. Ikkaku was the first to attack. Luckily for the rest of the sake drinking gang the punks had some reinforcements. There was enough to go around and everyone had their share of the fight.

The Shinigamis had a blast, while the poor people in that bar in District 65, had a severe blow to their egos (that were actually too high to begin with).

* * *

(Two days later)

"A satisfactory report, Renji." Byakua commented. "Quite a few hollow, but not out of the ordinary."

Renji nodded.

Byakuya put Renji's report to the side, looking up at his vice. "You may leave now. I'll expect your next report in three months, but if I need you before then, I'll call for you."

"Hai." Renji said, getting to his feet.

He headed for the door, opened it and was about to shut it behind him when Byakuya spoke up. "Pass my regards to Rukia. I trust you haven't forgotten your mission."

"No…I haven't."

Byakuya looked back down to his paperwork. "Good."

Renji shut the door, and headed for the senkai gate. He was late, so he shunpoed there. Waiting for him there was his sake-drinking gang.

"Come back soon, Renji. The parties are always funner with you here." Rangiku smiled doing a two finger salut.

"Yeah. Don't wait too long to come back." Yumichika smiled.

"See ya Renji." Ikkaku grinned.

Hisagi nodded, wordlessly saying goodbye

Iba patted Renji on the shoulder. "Bye, Renji. Nice having ya back, now get outta here."

"Hai." Renji smiled, waved at everyone, but was surprised to see someone else at his farewell. "U-Ukitake-taicho?"

"Ahh, Abarai-san. you look shocked to see me here." He smiled. "I just wanted to see you off is all."

Renji scratched his head. "No offense Ukitake-taicho, but, I don't think that's the only reason for you being here."

The captain chuckled lightly. "I'm sorry, you're right. I want you to pass my regards to Rukia. She seemed….different the last time I saw her. Make sure she's alright, please?"

"Yes, sir."

"Don't let me keep you, Abarai-san." Ukitake smiled.

Renji turned, heading into the senkai gate, right behind, a hell butterfly.

* * *

_(Flashback)_

"_Bring her in here, Ichigo." Rukia said hurriedly._

_Ichigo, carrying a battered, beaten girl in his arms, laid her down on a futon in the centre of the room. He looked at her unconscious form and he internally cursed himself._

_Rukia, knowing him well, hugged him gently. "It's not your fault, Ichigo."_

_He hugged her back. "Yes, Rukia….yes it is. I could have protected her. I _should_ have protected her. Now, look at her; unconscious and beaten. Danm those stupid hollow."_

_Urahara appeared in the doorway. He cleared his throat. "Inoue is here to heal her."_

_The couple nodded and released each other from their embrace. Inoue came in and summoned her Shin Shin Rikka, a concentrated look adorning her features as the orange glow lit up the room._

_Ichigo looked down at the girl. She looked really familiar. He then looked back at Urahara. "What's that?" Ichigo asked, indicating to the small object in Urahara's hands._

_Urahara tossed it over to Ichigo. "I found it around the area she was attacked. It's got her ID in it."_

_Ichigo opened the small, pink purse to find same money and her student ID card. "She goes to our school and is in our grade. No wonder she looked familiar. She's in Koji Sensei's class, which is why I hardly know her."_

_Rukia tugged at the card in Ichigo's hands until he let her have it. She sighed, disgusted. " I noticed she had a high reiatsu level, but I didn't think she would get attacked by hollow. And I didn't know she could see them until I saw her dodging its attacks. She may have even seen us in Shingami form. This is all my fault. I should've done more research."_

"_Neither of you is to blame. She will be okay, that's what matters." Urahara said with unusual seriousness. _

_Inoue breathed a sigh of relief as her Shin Shin Rikka returned to her hair pins. "She's gonna be fine. She'll wake up any time now—oh! Here she comes now."_

_The girl opened her grey eyes slowly. She blinked twice, taking in her surroundings. Ichigo knelton one knee beside her. "Hi. I'm Kurosaki Ichigo."_

_She looked at him, confused, wiping the chin-length brown hair out of her eyed. "I'm Matsunaga Megumi."_

_(End of Flashback)_

***

Rukia shut her eyes as she sat on a bench in the Karakura park. Behind her children played in the sand pits, swung on the swings and slid down the slides.

She heard a familiar click, clacking getting closer and closer to her. Urahara hummed a little tune in time to the click, clack of his footwear. "Ahhh, Rukia-san. there you are. I've been looking for you."

Rukia moved over a little, making some room for him. "Really? What for?"

"To see how the apartment is going for you. Do you remember the communication device that was set up in Orihime-san's room? We set up a…tidier looking one in one of the rooms. You can contact Soul Society with it."

"Yeah, it's in the second guest room. Jeez, Urahara, you didn't have to get me such a big place. I would have been fine in a _shack_ to be honest." She smiled, thinking back to the Rukongai days.

Urahara chuckled. "Wouldn't we all……Well, you _are_ a noble, Rukia-san."

"Not a real one." She muttered, not realising she had said it out loud.

Urahara smiled a knowing smile, snapping his fan open in front of his face. He decided to change the subject. "Abarai-san gets back today."

Her face lit up a fraction. "Yeah. I'll come visit later."

"Well, I'll see you then, Rukia-san." Urahara called getting op from the bench. "I have to go get some-food ready for Abarai-san."

"He eats too much, Urahara. But bye, anyway." She murmured.

He chuckled. "Goodbye Rukia-san."

* * *

Rukia sat in the park for a long time after Urahara left; after all the kids went home. Just as the sun was about to hide away for the night, a man slowly approached her.

His movements were rushed, but then slowed as he neared her. "Hey, you." He grunted.

She turned to him slowly, and then smiled widely when she saw who it was. "Renji!"

"Scoot over," he said, then sat down when she did. "How've you been?"

"Forget me, how was everything in Soul Society?" Rukia smiled, awaiting his reply.

"Same old, same old." He muttered rolling his eyes. "Another bar fight except in district 65. And Ukitake taicho says hi, as well as the captain."

Rukia smiled at that. Her captain _and_ her nii-sama? That bit of news would make her week.

They both looked out to the sun. It was halfway concealed behind the hills. Renji sighed. "How were things here?"

She knew what he meant the moment he asked the question. "I'm fine, Renji. You don't have to worry about me. I'm not going to be a burden—"

"No one said anything about being a _burden_, Rukia. I do it because I care." Renji said, calmly.

Rukia's head snapped back to Renji's face. "Thanks." She muttered.

"Yeah."

Renji looked down at Rukia, just after the sun had completely disappeared. "C'mon. I'll walk you home." he said, standing up.

She got to her feet and nodded.

**There it izz, guys. PLEASE DO NOT KICK MY ASS for putting a new character into the mix. I had no idea I was going to do that. I just have some big (well not really) plans for Megumi. Can you guess what those plans are?? heheheh**

**I won't ask for reviews because hardly anyone does it anyway ) ;**

**So until next time…**

**~Sewa-san~**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello my lovely people!! Thankyou heaps to all the people that added me to their favourites, story alerts and fave author lists, it means heaps to me. Also, thanks to the new reviews!**

**Sorry it took me so long to write this one. It's the last few days of school for me and I've been sooo busy being totally psyched for the holidays!**

**Gomen Nasai if you don't like it.**

**Disclaimer: *defeated sigh***

"Ichigo!" Came a feminine voice. "Wake up, Ichi-san!"

Ichigo groaned. "What are you even doing in my house this early?......Don't answer that. Just go away, Megumi. Its too early to get up."

Silence.

Ichigo peeked from under his eyelids to see if she had left him, but unfortunately, he ended up staring into a pair of big grey eyes. He groaned again, but this time rolled out of bed. She smiled brightly at him.

"Wait here while I go and have a shower, and I mean it. Seriously. Wait. _Here_." He said, hoping she wouldn't wonder off to his family.

She nodded frantically, while he grabbed his towel and headed for the bathroom. Half an hour later, he come back to find his room empty.

He sighed exasperated, but went down stairs to look for her. Sure enough, there she was, sitting with his family; listening to a dream Yuzu had the night before. He watched silently as his sister drew invisible pictures in the air with her hands to illustrate her story. Karin, Isshin and Megumi all sat, watching with their undivided attention.

He took his place opposite Megumi, glaring daggers at her. Her wavy, brown hair fell to her shoulders, parted and pinned to one side. Ichigo could only glare some more when she turned to him and said "Good Morning!" like they hadn't even seen each other until just then.

He frowned at her, while she just smiled. "C'mon Ichigo. It's too early to be angry at someone."

"Yeah, it's too early for a lot of things." He murmured grudgingly.

She just laughed, making him angrier. They would've started a serious argument, but Yuzu cleared her throat, getting both their attentions. "Ichi-nii, where's Rukia-san?"

Megumi's smile faltered, while Ichigo scowled slightly. "She's….away."

* * *

"Ukitake taicho, you didn't have to call me, but thankyou." Rukia said to the screen that occupied the whole back wall of the second guest bedroom.

"Nonsense, Rukia-san. I always wonder how you are. I'm just glad I can contact you easier." He paused to cough lightly. "How have you been?"

She thought about asking him the same thing, but knew how he didn't like people worrying about him. "I've been fine, sir. Just settling into the new apartment."

"Oh? Why do you have a new apartment? What happened to your staying at the Kurosaki's residence?" he asked, confused and concerned at the same time.

"I'm no longer….with Ichigo, taicho. I'm….." she trailed off, not really wanting to talk about it, but still wanting to explain it to him.

He let a knowing smile form on his lips. "Well I hope the place is a nice one. I take it Urahara was the one who found it for you?"

"Yes he did. It's a nice place. A bit big, though." She said looking around the room.

He chuckled, but then turned serious when he felt a familiar reiatsu approaching his room. "Rukia, your brother wants to talk to you. He's coming right now."

Rukia's eyes widened. Nii-sama _wanted_ to talk to her? She tucked her feet under her, sitting on her heels and straightened the creases in her dress.

Ukiatake looked to a door on his left and watched it slide open. Standing there was Byakuya in all his glory, looking as noble as ever. "Good Morni—"

He stopped short when he realized that the thirteenth division captain was talking to Rukia. Ukitake smiled at him, waving him over to stand next to him.

Byakuya had no idea that Rukia was communicating with her captain, but walked over to Ukitake, standing by his side. "Hello, Rukia."

"Hello, nii-sama." She greeted back, her tone full of respect.

"How have you been?" he asked, trying to hide his concern.

"Fine thankyou, nii-sama. I plan to visit Sereitei soon." She reported. "Are you well?"

"Yes thankyou."

Ukitake smiled throughout out the exchange of words. He sighed. _They are always so formal with each other. It's gotten better since the winter war, though…._

There was a bang of a door from Rukia's end and Renji stalked into the room. "Oi, Rukia. I thought you would be at—" Renji's eyes widened before he bowed. "Hello Ukitake-taicho and Kuchiki-taicho."

Ukitake smiled widely. "Abarai-san! How nice to see you."

"Renji." Byakuya greeted with a curt nod.

Renji straightened up. "Maybe I should come back late—"

"Nonsense, Abarai-san. I was just leaving." Ukitake said.

"Oh. I guess I'll talk to you later, Ukitake-taicho." Rukia said, happy that she could just 'talk to him later' (thanks to the device from Urahara).

"I will leave also." Byakuya said and Rukia thought he almost sounded like he didn't actually want to go.

"Alright, nii-sama. I will see you soon." She said hopefully.

He nodded, then the screen went blank, but not before two things happened; Ukitake waved childishly at the two, and Byakuya and Renji exchanged meaningful glances.

A few seconds ticked by. "Aww, I'm sorry, Rukia." Renji said ruefully.

"For what?" She replied, honestly not knowing why he was apologising.

"For ruining your conversation. It would have gone on for longer if I hadn't—"

"Shut up Renji. Just shut up." She smiled at him shaking her head. "You did nothing wrong. The conversation was going nowhere anyway"

She got up off the floor and headed out of the room. "Hungry?"

"Nope." He replied curtly.

She looked back at him, not convinced. "Really?"

"Nope." He said, and then smiled. "Starving, actually."

"Don't they feed you at Urahara's?" she asked, after chuckling.

He scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, but I gotta work for it. Like seriously; work. Like scrubbing the toilets and unclogging the pipes. Not just any pipes; _toilet_ pipes. It's bad enough that I have to deal with Urahara's _normal_ crap; then I would have to deal with his _actual_ crap." He shuddered at the thought.

"So?"

He looked at her like she was crazy. "I don't have time to be doing chores for meals. I gotta be ready to help these rookie sixth divisioners that are on a training mission here in the real world."

"Yeah. Well, you better do _something_ or you'll be the one to single-handedly empty my astonishingly full fridge."

She went to the fridge and pulled out a tray of already made sandwiches. They were cut into little triangles and varied from ham and cheese to grilled cheese to cheese and bacon. Renji didn't miss the large amounts of cheese.

He raised an eyebrow. "What up with all the cheese?"

She shrugged her shoulders, taking a bite out of one. "Urahara likes cheese and thought I did too. I was hoping you would come around and finish it all. Guess I was in luck."

He gave her a blank look. "So I'm your rubbish bin now, huh."

"It's not like you don't like it. Besides, where else are you gonna get free food from? Answer: nowhere. So just shut up and enjoy the cheesiness."

Renji gulped. He mumbled something along the lines of "Bossy boot" then proceeded to finish the whole tray. He sighed, content. "Thanks Rukia. That was—"

_Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep_, both he and Rukia's hollow detectors cried.

The both took it out pressed a button to make them stop the beeping.

Rukia's face had gone serious. "West Karakura."

"Let's go." Renji said, already out of his gigai.

Rukia popped the mod soul in her mouth and then they were off.

* * *

The two hollows were not that big, but difficult to get rid of. As Rukia chanted the release of Sode no Shirayuki to one of the hollow, Zambimaru made its way towards the other.

Rukia's hollow threw its foot at her, but she managed freeze off the perpetrating foot. Renji landed on the ground after slicing away an arm off of his hollow; he jumped off the ground and into a nearby tree, and then dove Zambimaru first at the hollow.

Surprisingly, it didn't take much at all to finish off the hollow. Zambimaru sliced the hollow cleanly and it disappeared into nothingness. He wondered to himself why it became so easy to kill the hollow toward the end.

"Renji! Behind you!!" Rukia suddenly screamed at the top of her lungs.

Renji whirled around, and at that moment, Rukia's hollow shot out two tentacles. One wrapped around Renji's head and the other wrapped itself around his chest. The tentacles then began to glow

Renji's eyes widened, then his jaw went slack. His eyes went dull and then closed completely.

"…Hakuren."

The moment the word left Rukia's mouth, the hollow was frozen solid. Shattereing into a million piecaes, it then disintegrated.

Renji crumpled to the ground and didn't move at all after that. Rukia ran to Renji's side; he was alive but not alive. His heart was beating and he was breathing, but he eyes were as if he were dead; they were cold and looking at nothing in particular.

She frantically pulled Renji into her arms. "Renji...Renji...RENJIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!"

Tears welled up in her eyes as she hugged him close to her. She blinked them away quickly, getting up.

Renji was way taller and bigger than she was (not to mention heavier), but with her resolve formed, nothing was going to stop her.

She slid her arms under the small of his back and under his knees, then picked him up (bridal style…eheheh). She struggled under his weight and was about to shunpo off when she noticed Sode no Shirayuki and Zambimaru lying on the ground.

She muttered a curse under her breath, trying to figure out how she was going to retrieve the Zanpaktos.

"Rukia?" s feminine voice called out.

Rukia swivelled around to see a familiar brunette girl in a blue dress. "Oh, hi, Megumi." She said less than enthusiastically.

Megumi walked closer and picked up the two Zanpaktos. She held them out to Rukia. "Here."

Rukia frowned. Couldn't she see her hands were full? "Uhh, just put them on top of Renji."

Megumi's eyes widened in sudden realization as she did what Rukia said. "W-What happened to Renji?"

Rukia's voice went quiet. "I…don't know. But I have to go."

Megumi nodded. "Bye, Rukia. It was nice seeing you again."

Rukia sighed. "Yeah." Was all she could say. She turned and shunpoed away, towards the Urahara Store.

Megumi watched her disappear. _I'm so sorry, Rukia. I'm so sorry._

* * *

"Urahara! Urahara, help!" Rukia called, as she entered the store.

Urahara rushed into the room with an unusually serious face on. "Tessai."

Tessai came around the corner and took Renji from Rukia's hands. They headed for the enormous basement beneath the store, as Rukia told them about the glowing tentacles.

They nodded in unison, not saying anything.

"We'll find out what happened to him, Rukia-san." Urahara assured.

"Please, _please_ do." she pleaded.

"We will, Rukia-san. We will."

**Ta-da! I hope you liked it. I got a bit lazy toward the end, in case you thought the ending sucked. Please review? I need it.**

**Are you guessing what Megumi's part in this story is?? Hehehe**

**Until next time…**

**~Sewa-san~**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hellloo ma people!! I am officially on holidays!! I'm sooo stoked right now, I can't wait to go away for Christmas! So holidays mean I have a lot of time on my hands, which means I can write chapters quicker! Yay for you!**

**This one was done in one sitting, so don't kick my ass if it sucks.**

**THANKS TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO ADDED ME TO THEIR FAVES AND STORY ALERT LISTS!! ALSO TO THE NEW REVIEWERS: YA ROCK FOR LIFE!!**

**Disclaimer: Hah! In ma dreams!**

Rukia glared at the man before her. Was he really asking her to do what he was asking her? "There's no way in hell—"

"Rukia-san, please. Go. Ready yourself for his awakening. He will be here when you get back." Urahara said.

"If you do anything to him—"

"Rukia-san...I have grown to respect Abarai-san. I assure you nothing will happen to him. We are trying to help."

She nodded, then turned on her heel and left the Urahara Store.

Urahara sighed. "Tessai-san, you know what needs to be done. Abarai-san has been put to sleep. The tentacles around his chest and head have put his soul and mind into indefinite slumber. If my suspicions are correct, the only person that can wake him up is Rukia-san."

Tessai nodded silently.

* * *

Rukia cleaned up then got back into her gigai. When she was done, she led Renji's gigai to the Urahara Store.

She saw Jinta sitting on a chair outside the store; he was unusually quiet. "How is he?" she asked him, only just wondering why she asked Jinta instead of someone like Urahara or Tessai.

"The same." He replied, looking bored.

Rukia was anxious to go and see Renji but Jinta's mood intrigued her. "What's up with you? You usually look a lot more….alive."

He grunted. "Freeloader-san is……its just boring without him."

Rukia nodded, but didn't say anything. She went inside and to the room where she knew Renji would be. No one was in there except for Renji's unconscious form.

She watched him for awhile but then chose to sit next him. "C'mon Renji," she said, and in barely a whisper. "_wake up_."

Suddenly, his reiatsu began to fade rapidly, something that—for obvious reasons—worried Rukia. "Urahara! Tessai! Someone!"

Urahara rushed into the room a few, long seconds later, with Tessai closely behind. Rukia was surprised to see Orihime there too; something seemed different about her.

Tessai roughly threw Renji over his shoulder and carried him out of the room, the other three following. They went to the enormous basement below the store.

Renji was put on to a hospital-like bed and hooked up to various, strange-looking machines.

After examining the stats that one machine spat out, Urahara went pale. He turned to Rukia. "His condition is deteriorating, Rukia-san. there is no way for us to help him. I've tried everything; so has Orihime-san and Tessai-san. If I am right, he will be….gone, by…sundown."

Rukia shook her head. "B-But there has to be something! Please!"

"I wish there was. I'm _so_ sorry." He whispered. After a long moment of silence, another machine began beeping madly. Urahara slowly walked over to Renji's side. "Gomen nasai, Abarai-kun. I couldn't help you. Forgive me….good bye."

Orihime shed silent tears and Tessai bowed his head. Urahara turned and faced the sorrowful three. "Come Orihime-san, Tessai-san, we must go. Let Rukia-san have some time alone with him."

Rukia didn't even notice them leave, let alone hear the whispered condolences her closest friend. The only thing in her mind was Renji. _Renji_.

She made her way toward her long-time friend and felt tears well up in her eyes as the machine's beeping got faster and faster. She could feel her heart beginning to beat at the same rate as the machine. She sat on the bed, making sure she didn't sit on Renji.

"Renji, you can't leave me." she said, barely audible. "Please don't leave me?" she buried her face in his chest as sobs racked her body. "No…_no_."

She pulled away from him, bringing her face inches from his. "Renji…I…I…I'm sorry…I should've had your back and gotten that bastard hollow."

Rukia almost slapped herself. She knew those weren't the words she wanted to say; she knew those weren't the words he needed to hear in his final moments.

How long had she known Renji? How long had she _loved_ Renji? How long had she been running away from feelings she knew she _wanted_ to feel?

_Why was I running? Why wasn't I ready to face those feelings when he would be around for me to face them with? _

In any case, now she was ready; ready to admit her feelings to herself and to his unconscious, dying form.

"Renji, you can't leave me; not now, not ever…..There's something I need to tell you; something I stupidly never realised until just recently; something I should have told you a while ago.

It's just that I've….._we've_ known each other for so long. You were always there for me and…I wish I could say the same for me."

She looked at his closed eyes, hearing the machine's beeping in the background. "I couldn't believe myself when I realised it. I was in denial for all this time because…I was _afraid_; afraid you wouldn't love me; afraid you would leave me, just like… like _Ichigo_.

I didn't want to lose the friendship that kept us together and I didn't want to lose _you_."

She leaned in closer, her tears falling onto his face. "So you can't leave…..because I need you, Renji....I need you to be okay; I need you to know that…that I…I always have and probably always will…love you."

There; she had said it. _Even if you don't love me back…or even if you leave me._

She moved her lips to his ear and whispered her pleas.

"Don't go, Renji…..

Don't leave me….

Stay…

Stay with me….

Please...

I need you, Renji….

I…

I love you…"

She buried her face in his neck and cried uncontrollably. She was so busy crying, she failed to hear the machine's beeping slow down or see the twitch of Renji's finger.

* * *

"…Renji.." A deep voice called.

Renji couldn't move. He felt completely immobilised. He was able to move his eyelids, though. As soon as he managed to open his eyes, he thought he didn't open them at all because it was pitch black.

"…Renji…" the voice called again.

Then he could see it—see _him_. It was the embodiment or the extension of his soul: Zambimaru. His white fur glistened and so did the markings on his body that were identical to Renji's tattoos.

"Zambi…." Renji trailed off as he realised that he could move his mouth and talk.

"…Renji…" he called yet again.

"Yes, Zambimaru, I hear you." Renji said.

"Renji, that hollow has locked you in here. He had an ability, where he could create spiritual chains to immobilise his prey, then devour them. You have been his last victim and you _must_ break free."

Renji attempted to move his body, but his efforts were futile. "I…I don't think I can."

Renji watched as Zambimaru walked toward him. "Renji…do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Renji asked, without actually trying to listen.

Knowing Renji, Zambimaru kept silent. Renji sighed, but started to listen.

There.

It was faint, but he could definitely hear it. There was a scream; a sad, heartbroken scream.

"Who is that?" Renji whispered.

"We have been connected for a long time. When we are in tune with them, I can hear her." Zambimaru said.

"Who is that?" Renji repeated.

"Sode no Shirayuki." He replied. Renji's eyes widened as Zambimaru shook his head sadly. "She mourns for us….they both do."

Rukia?

Renji felt his resolve formed. He was going to get out of this place no matter what happened. He fired up his reiatsu, building it up. Once his reiatsu was at its highest point, he released it, targeting the spiritual chains around his body.

It was exhausting and made him feel like he was going to explode, but he could feel the chains coming loose.

When he thought he couldn't go on any longer, Zambimaru touched head of his tail (the serpent) to Renji's head, giving him a reiatsu boost.

It took another long moment before the chains broke free and Renji could move. Feeling drained, he collapsed, but Zambimaru caught him before he hit the floor.

"Renji, find the strength. You are being called. She is calling you…Go, Renji…"

Renji found himself walking, in no particular direction. It took a while until he saw some light….more light….more light, and then he was completely engulfed by the light.

* * *

Rukia's sobs had finally come to a stop as she realised the machine had ceased its frantic beeping; instead it was low and slow. She thought about calling for Urahara, afraid that because the beeping had slowed, something bad had happened.

Looking closely at Renji, Rukia's heart nearly jumped out of her chest. Renji's hand clenched and unclenched! She could only stare at his hand with her mouth hanging open.

First it was his right hand then his left; his feet was next. Soon enough his whole body was moving and he sat up, taking in Rukia's gaping look.

"Hey." Was all he managed to say.

"…"

"Are ya just gonna stand there and stare at me like I just rose from the dead, or are ya gonna—"

He was cut off as Rukia tackled him and hugged him tightly. "R-Renji!!"

He chuckled. "Hi, Rukia."

"I thought….i thought you were…going to die." She muttered sadly.

"You brought me back, Rukia. It was you. I heard you." He smiled.

Rukia went ten shades darker. "You….heard me?"

"Yeah. I could hear you crying…._and_ your soul." He said, patting her head as she released him from the bone crushing hug.

Rukia sighed relieved. _He didn't hear it. He didn't hear my confession._

But she couldn't figure out why she was so relieved that Renji hadn't heard. Was it because she was still afraid? Was it because she still thought he would leave?

No.

She concluded that it was because he wasn't ready to hear it yet. She smiled at him. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, it was horrible. I don't think I wanna die anytime soon, now that I know how you're gonna react."

She shook her head at him. "Not funny, Renji."

"Yeah, I know."

* * *

Urahara watched Renji being tackled by Rukia from behind a rock. He smiled to himself. He turned around to see Tessai taking the Ririn-mod-soul from the Orihime-gigai that he had created especially for this day.

Putting Ririn back into the little birdie plushie toy, Tessai looked to Urahara. "What now?"

"We nurse Abarai-san back to full strength." He replied, watching Tessai throw the Orihime gigai over his shoulder.

He grunted in response, walking away.

Urahara smiled to himself, following Tessai.

**I hope you likey!! It took me a while to get Rukia's confession right, but I still don't think I got it. **

**Anywho, I love Zambimaru!! He looks so cool!**

**Tell me what you think, okay?**

**Yours forever,**

**~Sewa-san~**


	8. Chapter 8

**I am soooooo sooooo sorry that its been so long since the last time I updated. Here's the story: I've been on holidays since the day before I posted my last chapter. The place I went to had no internet!**

**Thanks to all the people who added me to their faves and story alerts, YOU ROCK!! Another HUGE thanks to all of you reviewers I LOVE YOU GUYS 4EVA!!!**

**Anyway, enough about me, I think you've waited long enough for this chapter!**

**Here it is:**

Renji limped to the kitchen, where he guessed Rukia would be. He knew that she hadn't eaten in the three days; that she had stayed to look after him. Ignoring all of what Urahara told her about going and getting some rest, she had stayed to care for the love of her life….the love of her life that didn't know he was the love of her life.

He watched her for a few minutes; how she stood tapping her foot in front of the almost empty fridge; how she shook her head in dismay; he couldn't help but smile.

Shaking her head, she decided that she would head out and stock up the fridge because the Urahara gang had so kindly stocked up her fridge when she had moved into her new apartment.

She was startled to find Renji out of bed…_watching_ her. "R-Renji! What are you doing out of bed?"

He ignored her question and just grinned at her. "You don't have to stay, Rukia. I'm okay now—I mean when was the last time you ate…or slept for that matter."

She sighed. "Yeah…..I guess I better go home and rest up. Then I'll go shopping and replace all the food you've eaten. Seriously, you've been eating like a…I don't know what. You wolf down three bowls of food in one go."

He chuckled, but didn't say anything, instead walking up to her. Rukia could feel her heart beating faster and harder, hoping Renji wouldn't hear it.

He couldn't. But he could see her face get darker and darker shades of red this time he actually smiled, but barely managed to hide it; his thoughts going to the possibility that she could have feelings for him. He quickly brushed that thought out of his mind; he knew that the wounds from her relationship with Ichigo were still raw; that it was probably too soon for her to love another.

Rukia cleared her throat, trying to concentrate on something other than the sudden proximity between them. She didn't want to say anything, knowing that she would probably end up saying something stupid, but the silence was killing her.

"Renji?"

He took one last step toward her, now only inches away from her. He cursed mentally because his legs had unconsciously moved him so far; so close to her.

"Yeah?"

"I…..Uh….need to…. go shopping?" she said, more as a question.

"Okay." He simply said, turning away from her and heading back to his room. "See ya later!"

Rukia heaved a deep sigh. What was it about Renji that either sent her heart rate soaring or had it completely stop altogether?

It took her a few minutes to realise that it was because she _loved_ him. Love did strange things to people.

Finally moving from her spot, Rukia went out shopping.

* * *

After going to five different super markets, Rukia was exhausted. She was shopping for both Urahara and herself, but mainly for Urahara.

She was about to exit the last store, when she heard a familiar, high pitched laugh. Trying her best to ignore it, she started to make her way out of the store as fast as she could.

That was until she heard a familiar, high pitched voice call out to her. "Rukia?"

Rukia tried to ignore the voice again but failed when she felt a light tap on her shoulder.

Plastering a smile onto her petite face, she turned around. "Hi Megumi, it's _so_ nice to see you. It's been so long."

"Yeah it has." Megumi said her smile fading. "I haven't seen you around….or Renji."

"Yeah, Renji had a bit of an accident with some hollows, but he's fine now." Rukia said with a small smile.

"Oh. Well pass him my regards." Megumi said, her face contorted with worry.

"Oi! Megumi! There you are. I thought we agreed that we would meet back at the—" Ichigo stopped mid sentence when his eyes settled on Rukia.

"Ichigo." she nodded in greeting, her smile gone with the wind.

He silently did the same.

Rukia cleared her throat, as if to clear away the tension in the air. "You look….well."

"I was gonna say the same for you." He replied.

She snorted almost inaudibly. "Well, see ya!"

Rukia walked as fast as she could without actually running. She wanted to get away from this place. The walls seemed to close in on her and the air seemed to get thicker.

Once she was out of the store, she kept walking until she was a couple of blocks away. Stopping, she leaned against a building and took slow deliberated breaths.

This is an improvement, she thought to herself. I thought I would have cried the next time I saw him but I didn't. Maybe I can get through this.

Those thoughts lifted her soul until she heard footsteps come to a stop just behind her.

"Hi, Rukia."

Rukia turned around slowly.

"Look, I know you don't want to see me right now, but I have something to say and I'm going to say it. It's your turn to listen, okay?" he paused; a look of pain flashed across his face, but disappeared quickly. "There are no words to describe how much of a….I don't know what to say…an idiot? An ass? a jerk, maybe? Whatever you want to call it—to call me. I had no excuse.

"Anyway, I also don't know how to say it but I…I _really_ am sorry for what I did…for what happened. I don't know what it felt like to you but—"

"Exactly." Rukia said, barely a whisper.

"What?" Ichigo asked, not completely surprised that she had interrupted him.

She hated it; she hated the fact that he would see her cry. She hated feeling so…broken. But she wanted him to see, though; she wanted him to see the pain he caused her; she wanted him to see her heart ache.

"I said…_exactly_…… You don't have any idea what it felt like. You _can't_ have any idea what it felt like …to have your heart _ripped_ out of your chest….and then shattered into a _million_ pieces." Her body started to tremble with anger, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"To have given the love of your life everything, only to have it explode in your face. And I did…..I gave you _everything_….._all_ of my love…..all of my _heart._

"Don't you……Didn't you….didn't you, somewhere in your heart return the love I gave you….Didn't you love me?"

"I do, Rukia. I do love you….more than you think….more than you know."

Rukia had, had enough. She was tired of this anger that was burning inside of her; she was tired of feeling the hate that twisted up her insides. She wanted it to stop. She wanted it to just go away.

But what would that mean?

It was useless asking Rukia what it would mean; she already knew. She had to let him go. She had to break her ties with the substitute shinigami altogether.

Rukia knew it had to be a clean break or she would always be an angry person. She may as well be a hollow with all those dark feelings.

She cleared her throat, readying herself to do the deed. "Ichigo, I need you to know that, although I forgive you, I just can't…I can't not feel hurt every time I see you."

Ichigo nodded, he could vaguely see where this conversation was heading.

Rukia took a step closer to the taller man. "I need to….*sigh*…I need to not see you anymore; I need to stay away from you."

"I understand." Ichigo muttered.

"…..good."

Just then Megumi came up behind Ichigo, but hid behind his tall lean physique.

Rukia, already knowing she was there, sighed. "I hope you will benefit from this as much as I will....and Megumi?"

The brunette stuck her head out from behind Ichigo.

"I hope you look after him…he gets into a lot of trouble, and quite often too." She said with a frown.

"I'll try…..I'm sorry Rukia." Tears slid down her face as she clung to Ichigo's sleeve.

He stood unmoving, taking in what was happening to him.

"Its okay Megumi, I forgive you." Not knowing what else to say, Rukia headed for the Urahara Shop.

It felt like a heavy burden had been lifted away from her. She wasn't angry anymore…..at anyone or thing. Things were going to get better for her and she knew it.

She smiled a small smile before completely disappearing from Ichigo and Megumi's sight.

**You can totally hate me for the way it ended, but I needed to get that out of the way before Renji and Rukia can go further in their relationship.**

**Please review; I wanna know what you think!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Ooookay!! Hello, my lovely readers!! I just wanna thank everyone who read, reviewed, and added me to their faves and story alerts lists; THANKYOU!!! **

**I'm spread pretty thin at the moment, between school, Fanfictioning, and all the other stuff a normal teenager has to deal with, so sorry if it took me a while to update.**

**I only just realized that I had neglected to do the disclaimer last time. Oops!**

**Disclaimer: this fic, yes…..Bleach, no.**

**On to the story!**

The day was already gone and Rukia was beyond tired. After her meeting with Ichigo and Megumi, she felt physically and emotionally drained. But another thing she felt was better; Rukia felt better…about her situation with Ichigo, about herself, and about her future.

The Urahara Store was completely dark when she got there; not a spark of light could be found in the place. Entering the Urahara store quietly, Rukia restocked the fridge before taking her leave; she didn't want anyone to see her tear-stained face and puffy eyes. She also didn't want Renji to get up; he needed his rest.

But she nearly jumped out of her skin when a hand rested upon her shoulder.

Renji chuckled at how, even after all these years, he could still scare Rukia by hiding his reiatsu and sneaking up on her.

Spinning around, Rukia almost slapped Renji out of reflex, but remembering his condition, opted to frowning and shaking her head.

"I couldn't even sense you Renji. It was like you weren't even there" she said, confused. Before, she could kind of sense him near her, but this was different. She also hoped her comment would bring their conversation away from herself.

"Gotcha." he murmured, flicking on the lights.

Rukia turned her back on him, hoping he wouldn't see her face. "Whatever." She muttered, childishly.

"You heading home?" he asked, sitting on the kitchen bench.

"Uh-huh." She said curtly, still not letting him see her face.

He was silent for a moment before speaking, "Rukia….uh……I need to thank you. I kinda have the feeling—wait, now, I know that you helped me get through my whole coma-thing." Renji said, leaning his head a little to try and get a look at Rukia's face.

"Oh, don't worry about it Renji. I have the feeling that you would have done the same for me." Rukia said.

"Yeah, I would have….a hundred times over." Renji said, Rukia knowing he meant it.

Rukia needed to get out of the store, because at that moment, Renji had slid off the table and was heading her way. There was no way that she wanted Renji to see her the way she was, even if everything was okay now. she knew how he would react; he would react angrily.

"Renji, I have to go….its _so_ late. I guess I'll see you later, then." Rukia said, gliding out of the store.

Of course, Renji was beside her in seconds, causing Rukia to stop. "Renji! What are you doing?! You're not meant to be working yourself too hard!"

He heaved a deep sigh, rolling his eyes. "Rukia, I'm not a human, okay? We heal faster than they do…we heal _way_ faster than they do."

The smaller, woman crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm walking you home; it's getting late." Renji said, already walking ahead of Rukia.

He had known Rukia longer than any other human, or shinigami; he had known her longer than her own adopted family.

Right now, Rukia was hiding something…..something big or important enough for her to attempt to hide it from him.

Renji knew a few minutes of his 'tactics' and Rukia would spill the beans. He would begin by asking her if she was hiding anything, making her feel guilty, then he would act all hurt and mad because she wasn't telling him. As crazy as it sounds, this had worked in the past; she felt guilty and told him whatever it was that she had attempted to hide form him. But then again…that _was_ when they were kids.

The apartment was only a short walk away from the Store so it didn't take long before the pair found themselves in Rukia's apartment.

Keeping her head down Rukia sighed; she needed to get Renji out. "Bye, Renji!" she said, waving, but stopped when she realised how rude she sounded.

He knew what she was doing; she was trying to get rid of him. He would begin his 'tactics' on her. "You got something on your mind, Rukia? Something you wanna tell me?"

She looked up at him a fraction. "Wha—why?...Why would I have something on my mind?" she asked all too innocently. Renji was well on his way to finding out about her encounter with Ichigo and she knew it.

Now that Rukia was looking up at him for the first time that evening, Renji saw her puffy eyes and stained cheeks. He clenched his jaw tight, reaching out to Rukia. Placing his hand under her chin, he made her look at him, gently pulling her closer to himself.

"Why….what happened Rukia? If it had anything to do with…._him_…" he sighed, and then spoke through his teeth. "I'm going to _kill_ him."

"No, Renji! It's okay now—"

"Really? Is that why you cried?" he asked, not even close to being convinced.

"Yes, Renj. I ended it for good with him; no more contact with him or anything like that." Rukia said with a small smile. "Cold turkey." She whispered.

He looked at her for another minute, and then frowned. "I don't like the way you keep letting him hurt you, Rukia."

"He won't hurt me anymore, Renji. I won't let him….and I feel great!" she said with a smile.

"Really? You feel…_better_?"

She smiled at him, taking his hand from her chin and squeezing it gently with both of hers. "Better than I have for a long time."

He nodded at her, taking both her small hands in his larger ones. "I'm glad."

The two stood there silently, just looking into each other's eyes and all too soon, Renji cleared his throat and released Rukia's hands.

"I better be getting back. Urahara wanted to run some tests on me, early tomorrow. He thinks I should be back to normal in a week or so." Renji said, opening the door to leave.

Rukia nodded, but before Renji could disappear behind the door, she called out his name, making him stop and look at her questioningly.

"Thanks….for helping me through it." she said, mumbling the last bit.

"…a hundred times over, Rukia." He grinned, "See ya."

"Yeah." She said, barely a whisper.

* * *

"Get up, you stupid freeloader-san! Jeez, people would think you were dead with the way you sleep." The red haired boy yelled.

Renji groaned, but rolled out of bed. "What did you say, runt?"

"You have a problem with people that are smaller than you?....last time I checked, you seemed to _love_ them….especially Rukia-san." Jinta said smugly.

The next thing the kid knew, he was on the ground with the pillow (that had been thrown at him) lying comfortably on his belly.

"That hurt, you dick-head!"

"Good."

"Damn, freeloader" the much smaller red head grumbled.

"And proud of it." Renji muttered with a grin.

Jinta growled at the disappearing form of Renji who could be seen grinning the whole time.

As Renji went to the underground basement, he could see that Urahara had a bunch of machines set up, ready to run tests on him.

"Ahhh, Abarai-san. I hope you woke up alright." Urahara said from behind his opened fan.

"Did you have to send the brat?!" Renji grumbled.

"It was the only way to get you up in a hurry. He angers you quite quickly, so I figured…" he let that statement hang in the air.

Renji rolled his eyes. "What do you need me to do?"

Urahara used his fan to point at what looked like a hospital operating table, the same one Renji had woken up from his coma on. "Just lie on that and I'll begin my testing."

Renji hopped up onto the table and lay down on his back. He shut his eyes, feeling Urahara connect different wires to his chest and head.

A few moments later and he heard Urahara sigh; Renji's eyes snapped open, landing on Urahra who stood a few feet away, looking at the stats a machine spat out at him.

"What?" Renji asked.

Urahara dropped the paper, snapping his fan open and brought it up to his face in one swift movement. "Its seems….."

Renji nearly growled at the man for dragging the explanation on for a long time.

"….everything's fine."

The red head blinked a few times before the news registered. "Really?"

"Yep. Its seems that you're a-okay." He said with an exaggerated thumbs up. "It also seems, however, that your reiatsu has been completely zapped. But it's nothing to worry about. Give it a few months and you should be back to your old lieutenant level."

Renji's eyes widened as he sat up hurriedly. "You mean I'm _powerless_? How bad is it??"

The hand holding the fan in front of his face dropped, revealing Urahara's solemn expression. At the moment, I'm guessing you are the level you were before you enrolled in the Shinigami Acadamy."

Renji jumped off the table, dragging all the wires with him. "WHAT?!? What the hell do you think my Captain is going to do when he finds out?! He'll remove me as his lieutenant…..he'll remove me from his _division_! Shit!"

"Now, now, Abarai-san—"

"'Now, now,' my ass! This is bad." He heaved a deep sigh, composing himself. "I'm no stronger than a _first_ year….I'm probably even weaker." he shook his head, and then looked at Urahara. "How long did you say?"

"A few months at _least_." He replied, curtly.

Renji suppressed a groan. "Is there _anything_ you can do?....anything _I_ can do?"

Urahara thought for another moment, and then brought the fan back to his face. "Ask Zambimaru; he is an extension of your soul; of your power; of _you_. Make a pact with him of some sort….but nothing you can't handle."

Renji raised an eyebrow. "How do you know this will work?"

Urahara smirked behind his fan. "I don't. But Benihime and I have a lifelong contract other than the one every other shinigami has with their zanpaktou. If I want to release her, she has to have some of my blood….literally."

Renji thought about that for another moment, contemplating what his Baboon King zanpaktou would want from him. "Okay, Urahara, I'll see how that works out for me."

Renji turned to all the machines that Urahara had set up, then to the wires still connected to various parts of his upper body. "Do you need anything else?"

"No, no, you can go now Abarai-san." Urahara said, ripping off the wires from Renji.

Renji frowned. "This pact; how would I go about asking Zambimaru?"

Urahara smiled his usual, annoying smile. "That….is up to you." With that the man turned his back on Renji and began packing up his machines.

Renji, taking this as his cue to leave, went back up to the Store. He needed to find somewhere quiet where he could talk to Zambimaru.

Opting to go on the roof, he walked past Jinta and Ururu on his way out. "Don't disturb me; this is important."

The two silently watched him go out to the front of the store and then jump onto the roof.

Ururu looked at Jinta. "You heard Abarai-san."

"I'm not deaf, Ururu!" Jinta shouted back at her, grabbing one of her pony tails and yanking it really hard.

She flailed her arms around but didn't wail; she didn't want to disturb Renji.

***

Renji shook his head; Jinta was such a brat!

He sat cross-legged on the roof and closed his eyes, slowing his breathing and heart rate. He would feel Zambimaru's presence before he would see him.

"Renji." He called out.

Renji's eyes snapped open. "Zambimaru, we need to talk."

**Wow. This is not how I envisioned this chapter to be. I think this is not one of my best chapters. I had to rush through this chapter, so sorry if there are mistakes or stuff like that. **

**I found Rukia and Renji's little conversation a little awkward. I'll work on that next time. And is it just me or is it time for me to get things going with Rukia and Renji? Let's cut the crap, already! I'll start moving things along a lot quicker now.**

**Please review?? Good, Bad and anything else you wanna say!**

**~Sewa-san~**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello, hello, hello! I know, I know, its been waaaaaaaaaay tooo long! I'm sorry to you all for making you wait this long :/**

**my computer was playing up and no one wanted to help me. to make it worse, its assessment week :d**

**anyways, i think you've waited long enough...on to the story!**

Zambimaru looked at the redhead. "Months, you say?"

"Yeah, and only a first year." Renji grumbled.

The Baboon-serpent looked at his wielder. "What you ask, I can do….But as you already know: I will ask for something in return."

Renji frowned deeply. "I don't know of anything I can give you. Is there anything in particular that you want from me?"

Zambimaru thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I will give you a week to think about something you can give me, but if that proves to be too hard, I will tell you what I want."

Renji nodded slowly. "But what if I think of something, and you don't like it?"

"I won't be disappointed…what you give will be accepted, but what I ask may not be given….can you cope with that?" Zambimaru asked, stepping closer to Renji.

A look of determination coming across his face, Renji looked at the fading form of Zambimaru. "I'll think of something."

"And I will await it…" Zambimaru said, his voice fading away, as his body disappeared completely.

Renji thought for a moment longer. This would prove harder than he originally thought. It was then that he became aware of the approaching reiatsu of Rukia.

Jumping off the roof, he walked towards her with a grin on his face. "What's up, Rukia?"

"Nothing much. Just came to see what Urahara had to say about your condition." She paused, waiting for him to say something, but when he didn't, she raised an eyebrow. "Well….what did he say?"

Renji's grin disappeared, a sombre look adorning his features. "It's…not good, Rukia. I think we should go inside."

Rukia looked alarmingly at him. "Cut the crap, Renji. Just tell me what's wrong."

He sighed, knowing that she wouldn't yield. "I'm weak."

She waited for him to elaborate, but was annoyed when he once again failed to do so. "Okaaaay, but that's normal during recovery. You'll be fine soon—"

"No, Rukia. Not weak like that. Urahara said that I'm no stronger than a first year…and I'll be like this for months at least." His face was downcast but his eyes stayed on her.

Her face melted into one of concern; she did nothing but nod. "A first year? Is there anything that can be done?"

Renji nodded. "Urahara has done all that he can, but he said that if I make a deal with Zambimaru, I might be able to get my power back to normal."

"Have you made the deal?" she asked, her features unreadable.

He shook his head. "Still working on that."

She nodded, her eyebrows furrowing, then she looked up at him suddenly. "Have you told nii-sama?"

Renji cleared his throat. "No….I don't want to tell him unless I know for sure that I can't be fixed."

Rukia shook her head. "You aren't some _thing_ that has to be fixed, Renji. You're some_one_ who needs to be helped."

"Ahhh, Rukia-san! So lovely to see you so early in the morning." Urahara said loudly—ignoring the fact that it was already eleven—as he came out of the shop.

She silently nodded in greeting, but looked up at Renji's tall form as he began to talk. "Talked to Zambimaru, but its just like you said."

There was a familiar _click_ noise as Urahara snapped open his fan and brought up to conceal most of his face. "Have you made a decision yet?"

Rukia noted Renji's worried look. "No….but I have a week to decide."

"I must urge you on two things; those things being that you make your decision with haste…and that you make the right one." With that, Urahara brushed past the two, away from the Store.

Renji turned to Rukia, knowing she want answers on the exchange between himself and Urahara. He was not surprised to find her with a look of expectancy and curiosity on her face.

"I want some food. What about you?" he said, scratching the back of his head.

She rolled her eyes, sighing heavily. "I want some answers."

He shook his head in mock annoyance. "That doesn't help me and my hunger, Rukia."

She sighed again, exasperated. "How about this: I give you food; you give me answers."

Liking this arrangement, Renji smiled. "Deal…..where do you wanna go?"

"Where else?" She muttered, walking away from the Store with Renji following close behind.

Now in Rukia's apartment and Renji fed, Rukia awaited Renji to uphold his end of the bargain. He watched her watching him for a while before he leaned back into the couch and sighed.

"What do you wanna know?" he asked, as if it weren't obvious.

She crossed her arms over her chest, looking at him closely. "What were you and Urahara talking about?"

Renji thought silently for a minute, thinking of a way to put it. "Like I told you before, I'm at the level of a first year. Urahara said that if I made a deal with Zambimaru like what he has with Benihime, I might be able to get some of my powers back with Zambimaru's help. So I asked Zambimaru and he said he could do it, but he wants something in return. He gave me a week to think about what I'm willing to give him, but if I can't think of anything by then, he'll tell me what he wants."

Rukia frowned. "This could be dangerous, Renji. You don't know what he may want. There's no telling what could happen—"

"There are a lot of things that could happen to me—I mean, to my reiatsu. I've already thought about those things. I mean, I could hurt myself and maybe even others,—and it may sound rather corny, but—if there's a will, there's a way. "

The raven haired woman looked him through troubled eyes. "I don't wanna be the pessimist, but I just have this nagging feeling that someone is going to get hurt…..badly."

He grinned, gently punching her on the shoulder. "You have nothing to worry about. I'll be fine."

"No one said I was worrying about you." She said crossing her arms across her chest.

"No one said it…..I just know." He said confidently.

"Whatever." She huffed, annoyed that he was right. "It's just a risky operation. People—you could get hurt."

He sighed. "I told you before: you have nothing to worry about."

She nodded, but was still unbelieving. "I won't tell nii-sama, if that's what you want."

"Uh, yeah, that would be nice." He said with a slight grimace. "I don't wanna be kicked off sixth just because of something that may be able to be fixed."

Rukia's eyes widened. "He wouldn't do that…I think….I hope…...yeah, he actually might."

"Whatever, let's talk about other things…like you." He said, lazily draping his arm around her small shoulders. "How've things been?"

She snorted, trying to ignore the warmth that the contact created. "Boring….I don't know what to do with myself anymore. I'm thinking of asking Ukitake taicho to let me be assigned back to Soul Society; I have no business being here."

"That'd be really shitty. I'm not going home til I get my powers back." he said, leaning his head back, looking up at the ceiling.

"Yeah, that _would_ be really shitty." She murmured, watching him close his eyes.

He nodded lazily. "I'd be kinda lonely too."

"You'd have the Urahara gang…..especially Jinta." She added with a smile.

Renji didn't say anything for a while. "How can you….Jinta is just a little bratty piece of crap."

"That's a little harsh, Renji. I'd swear the kid likes you." Rukia said thoughtfully. "And I think you have a soft spot for him too. Did you notice how you said 'bratty piece of _crap'_ and not 'bratty piece of _shit'_?"

The redhead looked at Rukia through his eyelashes. "The only thing that kid likes is being annoying."

"You're not denying it the fact that you care about him?" She asked, amused.

"I'm not acknowledging it." He said, closing his eyes again. "I'd be bored either way"

"And we wouldn't want that, huh?" she said more to herself than to him.

He peeked at her again. "No, we wouldn't…..it would be nice to have some company that I _actually_ enjoy."

She leaned back into his arm. "I wonder who that company could be…" she mused aloud.

"Yeah, same." He muttered sarcastically.

"Maybe….if you wanted…._I_ could be that company." She suggested, cringing at the thought of him rejecting her.

"No shit, Rukia. Of _course_ I want you to be that company." He said lightly shaking his head. "Why do sound like you're scared I might reject that idea?"

Her eyes widened; Renji knew her too well. "Um…because you might reject that idea."

"I wouldn't do that, Rukia….well, not to you, anyways." He added with a grin.

She let a small smile form on her lips. "I know."

There was a short moment of comfortable silence between them. Then Rukia cleared her throat. "Ummm, Renji?"

"Yeah?"

"Now that I'm staying, what should we do first?" she said nervously.

He opened his eyes slightly. "I don't know, what do you wanna do?"

"Well, we should think about things that you could give Zambimaru….and then we can go to this place." she said, mumbling the last bit.

He raised an eyebrow. "What place?"

"It's just this place I know. It has the best sushi in all of Karakura. Orihime showed it to me some time ago and—"

"Okay."

"Wha—really?" she asked, slightly annoyed that he cut her off.

He shrugged. "Yeah, best sushi in Karakura, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I'll be the judge of that." He said using his free hand to point to himself.

She raised an eyebrow. "You say that like your opinion will change my mind…or like it matters."

"It will, and it does." He said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "My opinion _always_ matters."

"Uh-huh. Yeahhhh right." she said rolling her eyes. "Well, _I_ think it's the best sushi."

"We'll see." Renji smirked.

"Shut up! Jeez, your so annoying, Renji!"

He grinned. "Nawww, if I wasn't so annoying, you wouldn't like me."

"Hah! If you weren't so annoying, I would love you even more!" she said, only belatedly realizing her error.

Renji sobered up, watching Rukia's face, ears and neck turn tomato red. Rukia looked as shocked as he felt. "U-uh, Renji, I-I….Didn't mean—what I meant—like….I meant to say like."

"Ok." he muttered. Renji sat silently, his thoughts racing.

"Renji. I—"

Rukia's voice was drowned out as a loud ringing bellowed throughout the apartment.

"Crap." She muttered. "That's Ukitake taicho calling."

She stood up off the couch and looked towards the 'spare room' where the ringing originated. Renji stood up, not knowing what else to do. "I should, uh, get that." She murmured.

"Yeah." He said. "Umm, how 'bout I pick you up at seven and you show me where this sushi place is."

She silently nodded, watching him go to the door. "See ya then!"

"Yeah. Say hi to your captain for me." he said over his shoulder.

"Uh-huh."

"Seven o'clock. Don't forget." He said before closing the door.

Rukia went to the spare room, cussing herself for making the afternoon so awkward. She found herself in front of the large screen. Pressing the button that flashed in time to the ringing, she answered the call.

"Hello?" she said into the screen.

"Ahhhh, Rukia-san."

It was seven o'clock on the dot and Renji was standing outside Rukia's apartment door. He had spent their time apart just thinking. Could it be that she really did have feelings for him? He argued that she was still hurting from her break up with the Strawberry…but then again, she had told him that it was over for good.

He knocked on the door and only a few seconds later Rukia answered the door with a small smile. "Wow, Renji, you're early."

He blinked. "What do you mean? It only just turned seven."

"Exactly. When was the last time you were on time for anything?" she asked, her smile widening.

"Haha," he laughed sarcastically. "Now show me where this place is. I'm hungry already."

She rolled her eyes as she locked the door. "Surprisingly, it's only around the corner from here."

"Cool." he said, walking behind her as she stared walking. "You look nice, by the way."

He thought he could see her smile slightly. "Uh, thanks, Renji. You don't look to bad yourself. I don't think I've ever seen you this close to being 'dressed up'."

"Gee, thanks, Rukia." He said, his tone seeping with sarcasm.

"You've been very sarcastic lately." She commented. They walked for about five minutes before Rukia turned to Renji. "This is the place."

He sniffed the air. "Mmmm, smells good."

They went in and got a table for two. A few moments later, a waiter came up to get their order. "Hello." He turned to Rukia, "You were in here a while back with one of our regulars, Inoue-san."

Rukia smiled. "That's right."

The waiter ran his hand through his short brown hair and leaned toward Rukia, flirtatiously. "And, ah, what will you be ordering tonight?"

"I'll have what I had last time." Rukia said, her smile wavering at the unwelcome proximity.

"And I'll have the same." Renji added, slightly annoyed.

The waiter stiffened, straightening up, as if just realising Renji was there. "Alrighty then."

As the waiter left, Renji glared daggers into the waiter's back. Was that guy serious? Did he just try to hit on Rukia?

"He was nice." Rukia muttered.

Renji's eyes found Rukia's. "Yeah, a little too nice." He mumbled almost inaudibly.

"He was the waiter that served us last time I was here. I'm surprised he remembered me." the last part was more to herself than Renji.

"I'm surprised _you_ remembered him." Renji said, arching an eyebrow.

She shook her head. "I only remembered him coz he was trying his luck on Orihime."

Putting an elbow on the table, he leaned his head on his palm "Like he was trying his luck on you, just now?"

"He was so not trying his luck on me." she scoffed.

"Really? You really didn't notice? With the gentle smile, the running of the hand through his hair, the soft spoken word; all amateur attempts at flirting with you." He sighed, obviously not impressed. "I'm surprised it worked so easily on you of all people."

She crossed her arms over her small chest. "It didn't work on me."

"Okay, then." He murmured, not convinced.

She shut her eyes and breathed deeply. "This _will_ be a nice evening; I'm not going to let you or you're comments affect me."

"Good. Don't."

She opened her eyes slowly. "Renji I have something to tell….." she trailed off, as she saw the waiter heading toward them.

He set two dishes on the table and began walking away. "Enjoy your meal." He threw over his shoulder, as he winked at Rukia.

Rukia nearly bit her lip. "As much as I hate to admit it, you win, Renji. I guess he was trying to hit on me."

He did nothing but grin at her. On the inside, however, he cussed the waiter with the strongest of profanities.

"Let's talk about something else." she suggested.

Renji, still grinning. "Something like?"

"Something like…oh! Ukitake taicho said hi." She smiled, happily.

"Really? He's a cool guy." He muttered before stuffing his mouth with sushi.

Rukia smiled affectionately. "Yeah…he is.

Renji swallowed, and whether he meant it or not, he closed his eyes. "Okay, we're even Rukia. You were right, this _is_ the best sushi"

She grinned triumphantly, digging into her meal. "Told ya!"

With stomachs full, the two were ready to leave. The waiter came over after they paid, holding the receipt. He looked pointedly at Rukia and half smiled "Your receipt."

She faked a smile. "Oh, thanks."

"I'm Kitamura Benjiro, and come back anytime. I'll be happy to get you _anything_ you want." He said, taking her hand and placing a small kiss on the back of it.

Rukia looked at Renji helplessly and Renji looked like he had had enough. "Okay, that's it." He said angrily taking the waiter by the shoulders and shoving him into the nearest wall. "Are you serious? I mean really! Are you serious? Can't you see that she's with someone? That she's with me?"

The waiter Benjiro held his hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"You should be!" Renji bit out. "If you ever hit on her or Ori—Inoue-san again, I will find you and I will kill you myself."

Benjiro nodded frantically. "I won't! Ever!"

"Good." Renji said as he released the poor waiter.

Benjiro hurried inside without looking back. Rukia tore her eyes from the retreating figure of the man poor, intimidated waiter. "Pretty harsh, Renji."

"Hardly." He huffed, ignoring the looks of dismay he received from the restaurant customers.

He held the door open for the petite shinigami and followed her out of the restaurant. "But he was cute." She mumbled.

He rolled his eyes, annoyed. "I repeat: hardly."

She stopped walking and crossed her arms across her chest. "Jealous, much?"

He turned to her. "You seem intent on making me repeat that word, Rukia."

"You are so jealous!" she smirked.

"No I'm not." He threw over his shoulder as he began to walk.

"Are too." She argued, following him.

"Not." He lied easily.

"Yeah, you are." She persisted, secretly hoping he was wrong.

"Nope." He shook his head.

"Yep."

"No."

"Yes."

"Na."

She paused for a moment. How dumb was this argument (on her part). If he said he wasn't jealous, then he probably wasn't. "Fine." She sighed gently. "But anyone would've thought you were."

They both said nothing until they reached Rukia's apartment door. Opening it, Rukia led the way in and then watched Renji come in slowly.

They stood on opposite sides of the room staring at each other until Renji cleared his throat. "Rukia, I have something to tell you."

"Um, okay." She murmured seeing that his resolve was set.

He turned quickly and closed the door, then faced her. He took a deep breath, readying himself for what he was about to do. "Rukia, we've known each other longer than anyone else and I think it's about time I came clean."

"Come clean? About what?" she inquired.

"Shut up first, kay? Lemme do the talking for now." He said, annoyed. Leave it to Rukia to interrupt the confession of his life. "I've…..I mean…Rukia, I…." Was this for real? Renji couldn't believe it. It was either now or never. Tell her or forever hold his peace. He took a deep breath and let it out. "Rukia, I love you. I always have, and I have a very strong feeling that I always will."

Rukia froze, her eyes widening. Renji watched her for a few minutes, waiting for her to say something. "Rukia?...uhh, say something?"

She blinked. "You….love…._me_?"

He scratched the back of his head. "Well, I said it, didn't I?"

Rukia looked at him, still not believing. "Yeah, but…I just can't believe it."

He laughed nervously. "Well?"

"Well what?" she asked, clueless.

"What do you think?...about it…..about me." He muttered

Without even realising she had done it, Rukia threw herself at Renji, hugging him close. He hugged her back; happy but confused. "You still haven't said anything."

"Renji, I….love you too….for a while now."

It was his turn to be shocked. "Wha—"

He was interrupted by the familiar ringing of the communication device that was hooked up in the spare room. Rukia looked in the direction of the origin of the ringing, with a slightly annoyed face.

"I should go." He muttered.

"You don't have to." She whispered.

He grinned a toothy grin. "I really should, or I may never be able to leave again." He stalked over to the door and pulled it open. Turning to her he winked. "See ya!"

Rukia watched the door close, her heart in her chest, before realizing the ringing was still going. She sprinted to the source of the ringing and answered the call. Her captain, surprisingly wasn't on the other end.

"Rukia." A deep, melancholy voice greeted.

She bowed low, then straightened up. "Nii-sama."

**I'm sooo sorry again for not updating! and to all of you who have waited faithfully: I LOVE YOU ALLL!**

**This chapter was definitely NOT what i expected it to be...i'm sorry if you didnt like it :(**

**REVIEW PLEASE? **


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm SO SORRY!**

**I took FOREVER to update and I feel so bad! I was in holiday mood to the max! But I snapped out of it….enough to write this, anyway.**

**I apologise in advance if you don't like it but I promise I'll make the next one better ;)**

**P.S TO THOSE WHO REVIEWED OR ADDED ME TO THEIR FAVES AND STORY ALERT LISTS…..YOU GUYS ARE THE AWESOMEST! **

**On to the story!**

**Disclaimer: Same old story….I don't own any of it!...*sniff, sniff***

**Rukia**

"Rukia." The sixth division captain greeted.

"Nii-sama." She greeted back after perfectly executing a low bow.

He appraised her for a moment. "The elders have given me several options that will strengthen the Kuchiki family as they see that the family could become stronger. I have chosen one of these options; the option that I see will benefit our family in the present and in the future. "

Rukia swallowed audibly. When it came to family matters, Byakuya, being the head of the Kuchiki family, was always—if it was possible—all the more serious. She waited for him to continue. "The Kuchiki clan is counting on me as the head of the family to take care of this matter, and take care of it I will.

"A month from today, on the night of the full moon, there will be a marriage of the Kuchiki clan to the Tejima clan."

Rukia stood frozen. The Tejima and Kuchiki families were two out of four of the noblest families in all of Soul Society. The members of the Tejima family were the first nobles (apart from the Kuchikis) that she had met.

The head of the Tejima clan had three children; the eldest was the only daughter, her name was Misaki. Her younger brothers Tsuyoshi and Yuudai were well known to Rukia and the older one, Tsuyoshi had—as Rukia had noted—had feelings for her that were more than just friendly…..

Rukia's eyes widened slightly. Was it that Byakuya was trying to marry her off to one of the Tejima boys? Obviously he could….but would he?

Her brother's voice cut through her thoughts. "You will report back to Soul Society a week before the wedding, but if you wish to come back before then, then do as you wish."

She nodded once. He waited a few seconds before talking again. "Do you have any questions?"

Rukia blinked a few times, then cleared her throat. "No questions, nii-sama. But I will return to Soul Society soon."

He nodded. "Very well. I personally, will escort you home from the Senkai gate."

Rukia was amazed. Her brother would escort her? Why would he do something like that? She blinked before continuing. "I'll make sure that everything is in order before I return one week from today."

Her brother nodded once; both acknowledging what she had said and dismissing her at the same time. Rukia understood this and bowed before the screen went blank.

She straightened up and replayed the conversation in her head. In a few weeks, she would be a married woman, and her husband wouldn't be Renji. Her heart seemingly deflated in her chest.

But that only lasted a few minutes because she pushed that feeling to the side and filled herself with pride at the thought that she had been chosen to strengthen her family.

She sighed and left the apartment, heading towards the Urahara Store. But it wasn't Renji she needed to see.

**Renji**

After Renji had left Rukia's apartment, he was ecstatic. He was elated to the highest degree. He felt like he could fly. He needed sake.

He knew there was a bar on the end of the street so he quickened his pace and went in hurriedly. The sake went down easily, but he didn't have as many as he would have had in Soul Society. He spent about half an hour in the bar and then left, not really wanting to talk to anyone.

The feeling of elation didn't leave, and with the addition of the sake, Renji wondered why he wasn't flying yet.

He slowly made his way back to the Urahara Store, only to find the man himself waiting outside the store.

"Ahh, Renji-san!" he said happily, he then inhaled deeply, smelling the air. "Aww, you've been having sake….without me." he said, looking genuinely disappointed. The look of disappointment disappeared before he started talking again. "Well, don't just stand there. Come on in! I'll get some more sake."

Renji blinked a few times before following the blond into the store. Renji sat down at the table with a thud, Urahara doing the same, except quieter.

"Jinta-san! Jinta! Could you bring us some sake…..please?" Urahara called out, adding the last bit with a slight smirk.

There was a low murmur of a grumble, before Jinta came in and gave Urahara a large bottle of sake and some small cups.

Urahara feigned seriousness when Jinta threw him an accusing look. "What? I said please."

Jinta snorted. "You added it in afterwards..._way_ afterwards."

"Well, I'm sorry, Jinta." Urahara said as sincerely and he could.

The younger of the three sighed. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." His eyes landed on Renji for the first time. "Hey, what's up, Baboon-man?"

Renji's left eye twitched. He breathed deeply to calm himself; he wasn't going to let Jinta ruin his night. "Great. You?"

Jinta blinked, not expecting Renji to let the baboon comment slide. He relaxed, scratching the back of his head. "Nothing much."

Renji nodded, pouring himself some sake. Jinta nodded, looked at Urahara, and then left the room.

"We've been working on our manners." Urahara explained, pouring himself some sake, drinking it slowly. He looked at Renji seriously. "So, Renji-san, have you decided what you're going to give to Zambimaru?"

Renji sighed heavily. "No…I'll leave that for tomorrow. No use trying to think about it when I'm sake-d up and not thinking straight."

Urahara nodded, sipping his sake. He looked at Renji's empty cup and smiled. "More sake?" Renji nodded letting Urahara pour him some more. Urahara snapped his fan open and hid the smile that had turned sly. "What's the occasion?"

Renji looked at him blankly. "Wha—I don't know what yer talking about. There's no occasion, it's just that I haven't had sake in a while."

"Ookaay, then." Urahara murmured, pouring more for himself.

**Rukia**

Rukia knew Renji had arrived and she was waiting in the basement for him to go to sleep before she could leave. She didn't feel like seeing him; not after her conversation with her brother. She hoped Urahara was keeping him busy somehow, while his right hand man, Tessai put up a barrier to hide her reiatsu.

She had come here to find out what she could about Renji's condition before she would leave in a week. It turned out that he wasn't getting any better; but he wasn't getting any worse either; he was stable.

Urahara had explained what help from Zambimaru would do. Renji's reiatsu was locked up deep within him. It was like a dam; blocked by a barrier with no direction. But with Zambimaru's boost of power, it would give Renji's reiatsu current and direction. Renji's reiatsu would flow towards the barrier, breaking it.

It was all theoretical, but Urahara was sure that would be how it would work.

It took a few hours for Urahara to come down and tell her that Renji had conked out on sake. He hid his face behind his fan and handed her a package. "Here. This'll help you get back to your apartment undetected. You probably wont need it now that he's out cold, but you can never be sure."

Rukia slowly opened the brown parcel and pulled out a dark, hooded cloak. "What is it?"

Urahara cleared his throat. "Well, uh, it's a cloak that'll hide your reiatsu."

"And you didn't want to give this to me a few hours ago?" Rukia said, sighing. She put on the cloak, and looked at Urahara.

He looked back at her. "See? If it weren't for the fact that I knew you were here and where exactly you are, I wouldn't have a clue that you were anywhere near this part of town."

"Thanks, Urahara." She muttered with a small smile.

"No worries. But you better get back to your apartment, Rukia-san. I think you'll find your supplies all renewed to your liking," He said with a wave.

Rukia rolled her eyes. She noticed on a couple occasions when she left the apartment for a few hours, that the Urahara gang had restocked her fridge, pantry and other basic supplies, and cleaned up the apartment.

She turned and left the Store, wondering why they felt obligated to do so. It wasn't like she payed them or anything….

She let her thoughts wonder as she jumped onto the roof of the Urahara Store. She made her way home quicker when she jumped the rooftops, and before she realised it, she was in her apartment.

There was a loud, thundering knock at the door of Rukia's apartment. Rukia practically fell out of bed. She had gone to bed only a few hours before, her thoughts keeping her awake. She thought of things randomly; Renji, her future marriage, the Urahara gang, Renji….

She pulled the door open and nearly fell flat on her face, when, through sleepy, raven eyes, she saw Renji in the doorway.

He looked her up and down slowly, then at her zombie-like face and grinned. "Late night?"

"You have no idea." She mumbled dryly. "Gimme a sec." she muttered.

She had a lightening fast shower…in _cold_ water. And got changed in record time. She ran a brush through her damp hair and went out into the living room to find Renji on the couch with a bag of chips, watching T.V.

She rolled her eyes at him, and went to get herself a bowl of cereal.

Renji turned to her. "So Rukia, how's your captain?"

Her hand froze in front of her face with a spoon full of cereal on its way to her mouth. She realised she must've been like that for a few minutes, because Renji raised an eyebrow at her.

Forcing herself to move, Rukia put the spoon in back in the bowl and grabbed a drink from the fridge. She opened it and took a sip, letting the cool, liquid flow down her throat.

He's good…..everyone's fine." She muttered, nodding. "Hey, what's the time?"

"Four." He said, suddenly looking at her suspiciously. She was doing it again; hiding something from him.

She feigned surprise, already knowing the time. "Really? It's so late."

"Yeah, it is." He mumbled, getting up from the couch. He made his way toward her slowly. He thought for a moment before smirking slightly. "You didn't tell him, did you?"

She shook her head, sipping at her drink. "I told you I wasn't going to tell him, Renji. My brother doesn't need to….." her eyes widened as his triumphant grin._ Damn it!_ "Hey that's not fair, Renji! How'd you know?"

He shrugged at her. "I know these things, Rukia, I know these things. Besides, how often do I catch you reaching for a beer?"

She looked down at the bottle in her hand and internally groaned. "You've got to be kidding me…."

"No I'm not. _And_ I can tell when your lying, or hiding something from me." He declared happily. "So, you gonna tell me what your nii-sama wanted?"

Renij noted her grimace at his words. "Umm, y'know, the usual." He glared at her, unconvinced, knowing she'd cave within minutes.

She sighed. "Ugh! Renji! Its just stupid family politics!"

"Uh-huh, either your lying is getting better or you're only partially telling me the truth." He grumbled.

"Fine, Renji!...Not long from now, I'm…I'm going to get m—"

_Beep, beep, beep. Beep, beep, beep. Beep, beep, beep._

Renji muttered a curse under his breath as his hollow detector interrupted Rukia's confession. He whipped it out and shook his head, knowing that he would forget to ask Rukia about their previous conversation later.

"The northern most parts of Karakura….and there are quite a few."

Rukia sighed. "We should head out."

Renji hesitated. "Rukia, I'm just letting you know that I may not be of much use." When he saw her questioning gaze, he elaborated. "First year, remember?"

She nodded slowly. "Still wanna come?"

"Like hell I do! Come on, we better hurry." He muttered, popping his mod-soul into his mouth.

Rukia did the same and within seconds, the two were nearing the hollows.

Upon first inspection, the two noticed that the hollows weren't all that big or strong, but there were a lot of them; thirty at least.

There was a small yell and then a murmur of some words before an orange glow erupted a few yards away where the hollows gathered.

Rukia's eyes widened. "Shit! Orihime!"

Renji took out the hollows that were nearest to Orihime. He was surprised at how easily it was. He had expected to find it hard, but then he realised that only his reiatsu was that of a first year shinigami; not his actual skill.

He grinned and sliced through some more, then outright laughed. The feeling was indescribable. He felt good, because in these few single moments, he didn't feel so weak.

Rukia sliced and diced a large number of hollows before one of them spoke.

It was a brown hollow with red claw-like hands. His face was particularly uglier than the rest of the hollows, and his hollow hole was at the centre of his abdomen.

It liked its lips with a long narrow tongue and grinned maniacally. "I haven't had me a _Shinigami_ yet….but I hear that you taste rather delicious, and I've waited so long to have one. I can't wait anymore!"

Rukia scowled at its words, as Renji defeated more hollows. A bead of sweat formed at the top of her head. "I'm sorry to burst your bubble and I hope you enjoy disappointment, because I'm afraid you're going to have to wait a while longer."

She launched at the discusting creature and managed to cut off it's arm. It let out a screech of agony and tried to grab her with its remaining arm. She dodged it effortlessly and hacked its left foot off. The hollow was in disarray. With only two limbs left, he fell.

He screamed in anger and in pain. "You bitch! You bitch! You little Shinigami bitch!"

"I know." She shrugged, before putting the hollow out of its misery.

She turned and there were still a good number of hollow still around. She was impressed with Renji, and then Ichigo appeared.

He landed smack bam in the centre of a bunch of hollows and defeated them all without effort, then after killing the rest of the free ones, proceeded to kill the one Renji was on his way to defeating.

Renji felt like exploding. "Asshole! I didn't need your help!"

"Sorry, Renji." He said, meaning it. "I was in the zone."

"So was I!" Renji yelled.

Ichigo shrugged, turning to Rukia. "Hey."

She inclined her head in his direction. "Hey, yourself."

Renji scowled, but relaxed, while Ichigo half smiled then turned to Orihime, who was trying to leave the area unnoticed. "Where are you off to in such a hurry, Inoue?"

She froze and then chuckled nervously. "Kurosaki-kun! Oh! Heheh, thank you all for saving me…._again_."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at her. "You know we'd do it again, Inoue. But you still haven't answered my question."

Renji looked at her curiously, Rukia doing the same. She was never one to attempt to sneak away after a hollow attack.

Orihime blushed at the attention. "Uh-Well you seeee…..ummm its reeeally just a long story, heheheh."

"One we're all eager to hear." Ichigo added. He was genuinely curious.

She sighed. "I think I must've attracted all those hollows….sorry Kurosaki-kun, Abarai-kun and Rukia-san."

Renji grinned. "I've told you a thousand times to call me Renji, Inoue-san. And we already guessed that you attracted the hollows….right?"

Rukia nodded while Ichigo shifted nervously. Renji laughed hard. "Seriously, half-breed! Anyone could've guessed that!"

Ichigo scowled at Renji but turned back to Orihime. She bit her lip. "I was having an argument with Tsubaki about something, and I guess our reiatsu must've attracted the hollows….sorry."

Rukia went the her side. "You don't have to keep apologising, Orihime. What was the argument about?"

"He wants me to go see Urahara about something." She said, not wanting to go on about it.

Rukia nodded. "Do you wanna go there now?"

"That's where I was sneaking off to, actually." She said quietly, scratching the back of her head.

Rukia nodded again. "Me and Renji will come with you, okay?"

"Hey! I'm coming too!" Ichigo added forcefully.

"Pfft! No you're not." Renji said as if it was the most obvious thing.

"Yeah, I am! Inoue's my friend too, y'know!" Ichigo yelled, a vein ready to burst on his forehead.

Renji was about to yell something back when Orihime spoke up. "Um, Abar—I mean Renji-san…can Kurosaki-kun come too? Urahara and I will need him."

Renji looked from Orihime's innocent face to Ichigo's annoying, triumphant grin. "Alright Inoue-san…he can come. But only because _you_ asked."

Rukia sighed. "Okay, but we have to go and pick up our gigais first, Renji."

He nodded, walking up to Orihime. "Come on, Inoue-san. Up you get."

She looked at him, confused. "What do you mean Abara—"

She was cut off as Renji picked her up bridal style. "I told you not to call me that, remember? Now would you rather I carry you like this, or would you like a piggyback?"

Her face went beet red. "I-its up to you Aba—Renji-san"

"Hmmm….This way; that way, if you accidentally let go, I'll still have a good grip on you." He said smartly.

"O-Okay." She said nervously.

"Lets go." Rukia said, breaking into shunpo.

Renji did the same, Ichigo following close behind. They arrived at Rukia's apartment and Rukia burst through the door to find the two gigais sitting on chairs, waiting patiently.

Rukia was in her gigai within seconds. Renji promptly put Orihime down before getting into his gigai.

Ichigo walked in slowly, appraising the room. "Nice place."

Rukia looked up at him. "Uh, yeah, I guess." And that was the last thing they said to each other for a short while.

Renji cleared his throat, Orihime already in his arms. She put her arms around his neck and held on tighter; being carried during shunpo felt weird or maybe it was just the way he carried her.

In any case, they were at the Urahara Store rather fast, and Orihime was quick to talk to Urahara—after she bowed respectfully to the members of the house and thanked her three saviours again.

Ichigo took a seat and sipped at the tea Tessai gave him while Rukia stood in the corner, waiting for Orihime, and letting her thoughts wonder.

Renji however stood at the opposite corner with a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that he had forgotten something…..

**If you felt that this chapter was kind of all over the place, I'm sorry **

**There you are! Sorry if it was a little out of character, but its gotta happen to make this story work. Like I said before, these chapters never end the way I expect them to….**

**Please review? **


	12. Chapter 12

**I know I know. Its been like….a year since my last update. I'm reeeeeeeeeeeeally sorry, but I needed time to get my life back on track coz niggah'z got issues! :/**

**Enough with the heavy! You should get reading! :P**

**Disclaimer: It will never be mine _**

* * *

Ichigo downed the last of his tea. "What's taking Inoue so long?"

"You didn't have to come, _idiot_." Renji bit out, harshly. "If you're not willing to wait patiently, just go home!"

Ichigo glared at Renji, his reiatsu rising. "Inoue said she might need me, so I'm gonna stay right _here_."

Renji breathed deeply; Ichigo's reiatsu was getting harder to take. Rukia, noting his discomfort, cleared her throat, getting both their attention. "Shut up; both of you."

Ichigo sighed, getting his reiatsu under control, while Renji shot Rukia an appreciative glance. It was then that Orihime came into the room, followed closely by Urahara.

Orihime bowed apologetically. "Gomen, I didn't think I was going to take so long and I'm sorry for making you wait."

Rukia shook her head. "No apologies, Orihime, remember?"

Orihime nodded, suddenly finding something interesting on the floor, which is when Urahara began talking.

He snapped open his fan and concealed most of his face. "Orihime is in need of your help, Kurosaki."

Ichigo was all ears, while both Renji and Rukia got closer to hear better. Urahara made sure everyone was listening before speaking.

He nodded when he saw their waiting faces. "Orihime's rejection powers are weakening and although she doesn't know what to do about it, Tsubaki seems to have an idea; a _plausible_ idea, I might add.

"He reckons that because Orihime-san hasn't used them in a long while, they have weakened "miserably"." Urahara said 'miserably' in a way that let the others guess he was quoting Tsubaki.

Ichigo thought for second. "So what does this have to do with me?"

Renji bit his tongue to stop himself from starting an argument. Urahara smirked behind his fan, but shifted in his place. "Tsubaki has made it known that he, along with his fellow comrades would like you, Kurosaki, to "help them get stronger."

Renji grimaced, taking a guess at Urahara's meaning, but Ichigo scratched his head, earning a glare from the former. "Help? How?"

Rukia let out an exasperated sigh. "Jeez, Ichigo! Pay attention."

"I am! I'm paying attention! Just tell me how to help and I'll help you, Inoue." Ichigo said, looking at Orihime.

She blushed, smiling at him, but her smile faltered as she thought of what to say. "Umm, Kurosaki-kun, its okay, _really_….You don't have to do it….I'm sure we can find some other way…." She faded away, grimacing; Tsubaki was talking to her.

Ichigo mirrored her frown. "Inoue?"

She looked like she snapped out of a dream, her grey eyes falling on Ichigo. "Huh?"

"How can I help, Inoue? I'll help no matter what. I promise." Ichigo said, determined.

"Are you sure?" She asked, uncertain and when he nodded, she sighed. "Tsubaki wants you to….he wants you to help us by….hhhattahhhckhhing hhmheee."

Ichigo frowned at her (mumbled) last words. "Wha—"

"Attack her! Tsubaki wants you to attack her!" Renji yelled, finally snapping.

Orihime's lips formed a tight line at Renji's loud but accurate words. Ichigo's face went blank before it melted into one of shock. "No! I-I can't do that, Inoue!"

"But you promised…" she mumbled quietly; they all heard her words.

Ichigo shook his head. "I know I promised, Inoue, but that's just crazy! I _protect_ my friends, not _hurt_ them."

Orihime looked back to the ground, while Rukia looked to Urahara. "Isn't there another way?"

Urahara shrugged. "I haven't gotten the chance to get a good look at Orihime's Shin Shin Rukka, so I'm unsure of what the outcome of any sort of help would be. Orihime, your Tsubaki does have a good point, though.

"Because you haven't used them in so long, they have grown weak and may continue to do so unless strengthened again. If not, they'll continue to get weaker and weaker until they become of practically no use. This may have effects on you…"

"What kind of effects?" she asked quietly.

Urahara said nothing, only looking at her friends with a serious face, implying the effects would be bad.

Ichigo buried his head in his hands, staying still for a long moment. He then looked up at Orihime. "Alright, Inoue, I'll do it. But if I don't like how things are going, I'm going to stop straight away."

She looked up at him with a blank expression, but then nodded.

"I don't like this, Inoue-san, but if it'll help you…." Renji trailed off.

Rukia crossed her arms across her small chest. "Alright, Orihime; it's decided. But when'll you start?" She asked, looking at Urahara.

The blond scratched the back of his head. "We could start now, if Kurosaki's okay with it."

Ichigo shrugged. "I already said that I'm good; it's Inoue. Does she wanna do this now?"

Orihime was quiet for a while. "We could do it later…." She paused and winced; the others guessed Tsubaki was chastising her. "Or now." She muttered, confirming their guesses.

Urahara and the other permanent occupants of the Store scurried off to make preparations, leaving Ichigo, Orihime and the two Shinigamis alone.

"Oi! Renji! You okay, over there?" Ichigo asked, detachedly.

Renji narrowed his eyes at the orange haired teen. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Something just seems a bit off about you lately."

Renji paled, only grunting in response.

* * *

(about an hour later )

They all gathered in the impossibly large basement and waited for the teens to begin. Orihime stood a good distance away from Ichigo, fidgeting.

Ichigo scowled deeper at the thought of attacking someone he fought so hard to protect.

And then they begun; Orihime calling out her shield to stop Zangetsu. Ichigo had a deep scowl etched into his features, but he continued, nevertheless.

Rukia frowned. She didn't want to watch this. She didn't want to see her ex-boyfriend attacking one of her closest (living) friends. She quickly turned on her heel and fled upstairs.

She went straight to the kitchen and rummaged through the pantry. Deciding that this was a bit rude, she left empty handed and sat on the front steps of the Store, letting her thoughts take her places.

She hadn't been sitting there for long before a deep voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "You know, you still haven't told me what the captain wanted."

She closed her eyes, a small smile gracing her lips. Renji never missed anything. "Yeah, maybe it's a sign that I shouldn't tell you."

He plopped down next to her….like, _right_ next to her. He saw her eyes open at this and smirked. "Or maybe it was a sign that you needed some time to get your head around whatever your brother called you about."

She sighed. "Seriously, Renji. You're starting to scare me. What do you, read minds?"

Renji shook his head. "No, Rukia, I don't read minds, I read you."

She looked up at him, then away, her cheeks going a brilliant red.

She had to tell him, and she had to tell him now. "Renji…I…" She trailed off as a voice spoke to her in her head.

"_Why….why are you going to tell him?"_

_Sode no Shirayuki?….w-what do you mean? I have to tell him_. Rukia thought back.

"_But…are you ready to lose him?"_

…

"_Then don't tell him. Telling him could mean that he would distance himself from you."_

_Well, what do you want me to do? Just go off and get married without telling him?_

…_.._

_We both know that I can't do that._

"_You know that you're not ready to lose him. You cant lose him. We cant lose them."_

_What….what do you mean?...Sode no Shirayuki? Sode no Shirayuki?_

…

"Yo! Rukia? Don't space out on me." Renji said, exasperated, waving a hand in front of her face.

Her eyes fell on him, her thoughts on her Zanpaktou's words. "Huh?"

"You were all _"Renji, I….."_ and that was it. You okay over there?"

He leaned in unconsciously, causing strange things to happen to Rukia's heart. "Renji…about the other night; when I told you that…that—"

"That you loved me. Yes, what about that night?" he grinned.

Jeez! This man wasn't making this any easier. "Well, you see—"

"Your feelings have changed since then…?" he inquired quietly, his grin all but gone.

Rukia looked at him silently for a looong while, then without warning, burst out into an uncharacteristic fit of laughter. Renji frowned at her until the laughter died down.

"Ahhh, I'm sorry, Renji. But it took me just about forever to realize what I felt was real. You really think my feelings would evaporate overnight?"

He felt a little guilty. "Oh. Right. Sorry." He mumbled, taking her hand in his much larger one. He brushed his lips against it with surprising gentleness.

She felt her face heat up, as well as another thing. Her heart ached. It ached hard. She, in a few weeks, would be tied to another through marital bonds, and Renji—if he hadn't recovered—would be stuck in a completely different world.

Tears prickled at her eyes as she began to mourn. Renji picked up on this and a look of acute worry donned his features. "Rukia? Did I do something…._wrong_?" he looked at her hand in his.

She shook her head, tears falling from her eyes. "No. Not you…I just still feel tired."

Renji frowned. "You want me to take you home?"

She didn't want to leave Orihime, but she did need to be alone. "No. I'll go alone."

Renji didn't like it one bit, but then Ururu came out of the store, with a request from Urahara. "He says its your turn."

Renji nearly exploded. Was Urahara serious? _Ichigo_ was the Orihime-attacker, not him. And besides, Ichigo could find out about Renji's predicament.

Renji sighed heavily, watching the retreating form of Ururu. "You sure you don't want me to walk you home?"

Rukia nodded. "I'll be fine."

He frowned, but let her go. _She'll tell me when she's ready….it can't be _that_ bad._

* * *

There was silence. Rukia was okay with that. In fact, she enjoyed it. Her apartment was so different to the constant noise that always seemed to be associated with the Urahara Store. It wasn't that she didn't like the noise….she was quite a noisy person herself, when she wanted to be. But she enjoyed the peace; the serenity. It was a nice break from all her inner turmoil.

Her break didn't last long, as her thoughts returned to her up and coming marriage to one of the Tejima boys, then to Renji, then back to getting married.

She felt her vision blur as tears formed in her eyes. When the hell did she get so damn weak? Why did she cry at the stupidest things?

And it was stupid. Whatever her feelings for Renji were, Rukia's duty was primarily to her family. The Kuchikis had adopted her, taken her in; what was marriage but a small way to show her loyalty to her clan?

A small groan escaped her lips before she mentally slapped herself. _Get a grip Rukia_._ Family first._

She sighed, her petite frame sagging, before she straightened her shoulders and resigned herself to the fact that in a matter of weeks, Kuchiki Rukia would be no more. Instead she would be a married woman.

She would be Tejima Rukia.

* * *

**And there you have it! Poor Rukia….poor Renji! **

**My next chapter is coming out reeeeal sooon….like in January.**

**Hahaha, nawww! I wont make you wait that long! Expect an update soon! IF you Review ;P  
**

**~Se****wa-san~**


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